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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 116 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: staff · prune · snap · march · leaves · bass · spring · nail

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. prune — to trim
  6. staff — a stick
  7. march — music
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. march — the month
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. march — the month
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. staff — employees
  14. snap — to click
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. prune — to trim
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. spring — of water
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — low music
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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