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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. root — of a plant
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. current — happening now
  7. mark — a grade
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. season — of the year
  11. rock — music
  12. season — in sport
  13. current — of water
  14. field — for sport
  15. rock — a stone
  16. current — electric
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. mark — a trace
  19. spring — the season
  20. field — farmland
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. field — a subject

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