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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 · key · branch · capital · pop · wake · field · season

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. prune — to trim
  5. season — in sport
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. pop — music
  10. branch — a division
  11. key — the most important part
  12. pop — to visit
  13. field — farmland
  14. capital — a city
  15. pop — soda
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. key — in music
  19. capital — money
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. key — for a lock
  24. branch — of a tree

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