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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · spring · prune · fork · wake · rock · object · lean

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. prune — to trim
  4. march — music
  5. spring — the season
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. march — the month
  8. spring — of water
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rock — music
  12. fork — in a road
  13. object — an aim
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. spring — a coil
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. lean — to bend
  19. object — a thing
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. rock — a stone
  22. wake — a trail
  23. object — to protest
  24. lean — thin

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