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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rock — music
  3. bulb — for light
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bound — certain
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bound — tied together
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bound — obliged
  15. root — the cause
  16. rest — a break
  17. branch — a division
  18. bulb — for light
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. root — of a word
  22. rock — a stone
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. prune — the fruit

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