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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: lean · season · game · prune · spell · staff · patient · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. spell — a short time
  3. game — wild animals
  4. prune — to trim
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. staff — a stick
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. lean — to bend
  10. staff — employees
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. season — in sport
  19. spell — magic
  20. staff — employees
  21. spell — letters
  22. season — of the year
  23. lean — thin
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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