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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: prune · branch · ball · firm · rash · game · wind · field

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. firm — decided
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. field — farmland
  9. branch — a division
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — hasty
  12. prune — to trim
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. firm — a company
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. ball — a dance
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — a subject
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ball — a great time
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. field — for sport

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