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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · prune · racket · safe · field · hand · snap · bear

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. prune — to trim
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. prune — to trim
  5. field — for sport
  6. bear — the animal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. hand — help
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. field — a subject
  15. spring — the season
  16. hand — in cards
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. spring — a coil
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bear — the animal
  22. field — farmland
  23. snap — to click
  24. spring — of water

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