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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 · land · fan · clip · last · file · pop · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — to cut
  4. land — a country
  5. last — finally
  6. file — a tool
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. pop — music
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. file — a document
  11. land — ground
  12. pop — soda
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. file — a line of people
  15. last — final
  16. land — to come down
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. last — to go on
  20. clip — a video
  21. pop — to visit
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. clip — for paper
  24. branch — a division

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