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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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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. pop — soda
  4. root — the cause
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. pop — music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rash — hasty
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pop — to visit
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. clip — to cut
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. squash — the sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. root — of a word
  20. squash — to crush
  21. root — of a plant
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. rash — a series

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