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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: ground · prune · branch · hand · fall · mug · can · march

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. can — to be able to
  5. branch — a division
  6. fall — the season
  7. hand — help
  8. ground — crushed
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. ground — the earth
  11. can — a tin
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. mug — to rob
  14. fall — to drop
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. prune — to trim
  17. march — music
  18. ground — a position
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. mug — a cup
  22. mug — a face
  23. fall — to drop
  24. can — a tin

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