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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: prune · trunk · press · pound · mouse · snap · wake · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. press — a publisher
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. snap — to click
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. press — to push
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. press — newspapers
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wake — a trail
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pound — to hit hard

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