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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 · rash · tube · sharp · staff · land · bark · branch

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. land — ground
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bark — to shout
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. land — a country
  11. prune — to trim
  12. tube — a container
  13. prune — to trim
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — hasty
  17. sharp — clever
  18. land — to come down
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. branch — a division
  24. staff — employees

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