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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: staff · leaves · wax · prune · squash · branch · spring · bass

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. prune — to trim
  4. spring — a coil
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. spring — the season
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bass — the fish
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bass — low music
  16. prune — to trim
  17. spring — of water
  18. squash — the sport
  19. staff — employees
  20. branch — a division
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. squash — to crush
  24. staff — employees

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