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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: last · sharp · staff · snap · prune · spring · tube · kick

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. sharp — clever
  3. snap — to click
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. spring — of water
  6. staff — employees
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. spring — the season
  9. prune — to trim
  10. last — to go on
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. staff — a stick
  13. spring — a coil
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. last — finally
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. kick — in football
  20. staff — employees
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. tube — the underground
  23. last — final
  24. tube — a container

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