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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bound — tied together
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bound — certain
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. last — final
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bound — obliged
  13. branch — a division
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stand — to bear
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. root — the cause
  22. roll — a cake
  23. root — of a word
  24. roll — a list

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