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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: leaves · game · cell · root · prune · vault · band · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. band — a ring
  3. game — a match
  4. vault — a safe
  5. root — of a word
  6. prune — to trim
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cell — a phone
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. band — a music group
  13. root — the cause
  14. game — wild animals
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. root — of a plant
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. snap — to click
  24. leaves — 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