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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: march · lean · arm · patient · prune · branch · land · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. march — the month
  3. prune — to trim
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — a division
  6. march — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pop — music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. land — to come down
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. land — a country
  15. march — the month
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. prune — to trim
  19. land — ground
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. arm — a part of something

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