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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. saw — the tool
  3. root — the cause
  4. bat — the animal
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — of a word
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. file — a tool
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. file — a document
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. prune — to trim
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. ball — a dance
  21. file — a line of people
  22. saw — the tool
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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