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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rest — what's left
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rest — what's left
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. root — of a plant
  10. spring — the season
  11. root — of a word
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spring — of water
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. capital — money
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rest — a break
  22. prune — to trim
  23. root — the cause
  24. calf — of the leg

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