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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. spring — of water
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. spring — the season
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. spring — a coil
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. ground — a position
  9. root — of a word
  10. prune — to trim
  11. track — a path
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. track — a song
  14. track — to keep track
  15. root — the cause
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bank — of a river
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bank — for money
  21. ground — crushed
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bank — for money
  24. trunk — of a tree

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