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

Word bank: spring · season · pound · prune · arm · snap · cell · racket

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. season — in sport
  3. spring — the season
  4. prune — to trim
  5. snap — to click
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. prune — to trim
  9. season — of the year
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pound — a weight
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cell — a phone
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cell — in biology
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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