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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · staff · spring · march · perch · nail · game · prune

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. nail — for a hammer
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. march — the month
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. staff — employees
  17. perch — the fish
  18. spring — the season
  19. prune — to trim
  20. march — the month
  21. prune — to trim
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. march — music
  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