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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · branch · hand · ball · prune · rule · wax · root

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. ball — a great time
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rule — government
  6. row — to paddle
  7. branch — a division
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. rule — a law
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. ball — a dance
  13. prune — to trim
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wax — to grow
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. root — of a plant
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. root — of a word
  23. row — a line
  24. root — the cause

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com