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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: ground · snap · spring · branch · land · spell · prune · wave

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. spell — a short time
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. spell — letters
  9. land — a country
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. snap — to click
  14. spell — magic
  15. ground — a position
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — ground
  18. ground — crushed
  19. prune — to trim
  20. land — to come down
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. ground — the earth

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