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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: firm · band · snap · branch · bulb · prune · spring · rule

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. spring — of water
  3. prune — to trim
  4. branch — a division
  5. firm — decided
  6. prune — to trim
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. firm — a company
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. spring — the season
  15. firm — steady
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. snap — to click
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. rule — a law
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. band — a ring
  24. rule — government

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