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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 · branch · scale · prune · sharp · press · row · wave

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  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. branch — of a bank
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. row — a line
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. press — newspapers
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. press — to push
  15. prune — to trim
  16. scale — size or range
  17. prune — to trim
  18. sharp — clever
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. scale — in music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wave — of the sea
  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