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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: prune · wound · mark · fork · branch · spring · bear · band

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wound — an injury
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. spring — a coil
  6. fork — in a road
  7. spring — of water
  8. bear — the animal
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. band — a music group
  12. mark — a trace
  13. spring — the season
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. prune — to trim
  16. band — a ring
  17. mark — a grade
  18. wound — an injury
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bear — the animal

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