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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 116 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: spring · hand · last · land · pop · prune · rock · staff

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. staff — a stick
  3. spring — of water
  4. rock — a stone
  5. last — to go on
  6. spring — the season
  7. pop — soda
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. land — a country
  10. pop — music
  11. spring — a coil
  12. last — finally
  13. pop — to visit
  14. staff — employees
  15. land — ground
  16. hand — help
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. prune — to trim
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. last — final
  21. staff — employees
  22. land — to come down
  23. rock — music
  24. prune — to trim

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