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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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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: prune · plane · face · spring · branch · straw · jam · wound

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. face — to point toward
  4. prune — to trim
  5. plane — a tool
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. spring — the season
  8. wound — an injury
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. spring — of water
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. branch — a division
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wound — an injury
  24. plane — in geometry

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