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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. field — a subject
  3. root — of a plant
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. season — in sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rock — music
  9. land — a country
  10. field — farmland
  11. land — ground
  12. content — the amount
  13. field — for sport
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. land — to come down
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rock — a stone
  24. prune — to trim

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