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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: wake · root · snap · trunk · prune · drill · branch · fan

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. root — the cause
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. drill — a practice
  5. snap — to click
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. prune — to trim
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wake — a trail
  17. root — of a plant
  18. drill — the tool
  19. prune — to trim
  20. root — of a word
  21. branch — a division
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. drill — army training

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