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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 · calf · capital · charge · wind · prune · snap · squash

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. charge — in control
  2. prune — to trim
  3. capital — a city
  4. prune — to trim
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. charge — a price
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. capital — money
  10. spring — of water
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wind — moving air
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. spring — the season
  17. squash — the sport
  18. spring — a coil
  19. charge — electricity
  20. snap — to click
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. squash — to crush
  23. wind — moving air
  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