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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: roll · spring · wind · tear · staff · branch · snap · prune

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. spring — of water
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spring — a coil
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wind — moving air
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. roll — a list
  19. branch — a division
  20. spring — the season
  21. roll — a cake
  22. tear — to rip
  23. prune — to trim
  24. staff — employees

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