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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — the arms race
  4. root — of a word
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wind — moving air
  7. root — of a plant
  8. fork — in a road
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. file — a line of people
  11. race — humankind
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. wind — moving air
  21. file — a tool
  22. root — the cause
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. file — a document

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