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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 116 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: leaves · tube · snap · spell · prune · squash · wind · object

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. squash — the sport
  6. spell — letters
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. object — an aim
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. prune — to trim
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. wind — moving air
  15. object — to protest
  16. spell — magic
  17. wind — moving air
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. object — a thing
  20. prune — to trim
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — the underground
  23. spell — a short time
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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