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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: present · bear · prune · kid · wake · branch · root · snap

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wake — a trail
  3. bear — the animal
  4. root — the cause
  5. present — there
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. root — of a plant
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bear — the animal
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. kid — child
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. present — the time now
  20. prune — to trim
  21. branch — a division
  22. root — of a word
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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