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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: snap · straw · prune · wake · bank · spring · wound · hand

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. hand — in cards
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to click
  6. spring — of water
  7. hand — help
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wake — a trail
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. spring — a coil
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. spring — the season
  16. wound — an injury
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wound — an injury
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bank — for money
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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