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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. swing — to play on
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. snap — to click
  7. root — of a plant
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. swing — music
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. prune — to trim
  13. swing — in golf
  14. hand — in cards
  15. prune — to trim
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. branch — a division
  18. root — of a word
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. root — the cause
  24. branch — of a tree

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