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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 120 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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. root — of a word
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. drill — the tool
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. sharp — clever
  12. field — farmland
  13. root — of a plant
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. field — for sport
  16. drill — a practice
  17. root — the cause
  18. field — a subject
  19. saw — the tool
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. prune — to trim
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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