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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: pop · snap · spell · branch · spring · trunk · leaves · kid

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pop — to visit
  6. spell — letters
  7. kid — child
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. pop — music
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spell — magic
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. spell — a short time
  17. snap — to click
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. spring — the season
  20. pop — soda
  21. kid — to tease
  22. branch — a division
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. spring — of water

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