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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: snap · prune · bank · leaves · kid · fall · mate · march

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. prune — to trim
  3. kid — to tease
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. fall — to drop
  6. prune — to trim
  7. march — music
  8. mate — a partner
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bank — for money
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. march — the month
  13. snap — to click
  14. fall — to drop
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mate — to breed
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. march — the month
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. mate — a friend
  23. fall — the season
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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