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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 120 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: wind · cell · mine · root · prune · snap · lean · arm

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. lean — to bend
  4. snap — to click
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wind — moving air
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. root — the cause
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lean — thin
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. root — of a word
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wind — to turn a key

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