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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. spring — of water
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pit — a hole
  5. spring — a coil
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. march — the month
  8. fall — to drop
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — to drop
  11. prune — to trim
  12. root — of a plant
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. root — of a word
  15. march — music
  16. root — the cause
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. mine — for digging
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. fall — the season
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. spring — the season

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