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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 120 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 · prune · tube · rest · hand · pass · coach · field

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pass — a permit
  4. tube — a container
  5. hand — in cards
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. rest — a break
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. prune — to trim
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. field — farmland
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. branch — a division
  16. hand — help
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. rest — what's left
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tube — the underground
  22. rest — what's left
  23. field — a subject
  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