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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. root — of a word
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. squash — the sport
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. root — the cause
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. squash — to crush
  22. season — in sport
  23. root — of a plant
  24. branch — a division

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