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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: drill · branch · last · bulb · press · trunk · prune · board

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. board — a committee
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. branch — a division
  7. press — a publisher
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. last — finally
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. last — final
  12. bulb — for light
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. drill — the tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. press — newspapers
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. bulb — for light
  20. press — to push
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. drill — a practice
  23. prune — to trim
  24. drill — army training

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