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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 116 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: branch · wake · field · stock · bowl · court · prune · root

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. root — the cause
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. stock — shares
  8. field — a subject
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. court — of law
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. court — of a king
  13. stock — goods
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. root — of a word
  18. branch — a division
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. wake — a trail
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bowl — to roll

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