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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: date · spring · present · prune · nail · mate · trunk · band

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mate — a friend
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. spring — of water
  6. band — a ring
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. present — a gift
  9. spring — a coil
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. band — a music group
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mate — a partner
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. date — the fruit
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. present — the time now
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. spring — the season
  21. mate — to breed
  22. present — there
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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