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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. spring — a coil
  4. land — to come down
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. spring — of water
  7. key — in music
  8. root — the cause
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. net — in sport
  13. land — ground
  14. root — of a word
  15. prune — to trim
  16. key — the most important part
  17. pop — to visit
  18. ball — a dance
  19. land — a country
  20. ball — a great time
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spring — the season
  23. key — for a lock
  24. root — of a plant

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