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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. prune — to trim
  3. season — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. tear — from crying
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. tear — from crying
  13. season — of the year
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. root — of a plant
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. squash — to crush
  20. root — the cause
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. squash — the sport

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