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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. root — the cause
  4. stock — shares
  5. ground — crushed
  6. saw — the tool
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. file — a line of people
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. stock — goods
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ground — a position
  15. file — a document
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. root — of a plant
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. saw — the tool
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. file — a tool
  24. root — of a word

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