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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: branch · toast · prune · date · coach · wound · stem · fork

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. toast — bread
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wound — an injury
  13. prune — to trim
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. stem — to come from
  24. branch — a division

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