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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. press — newspapers
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. track — a path
  7. court — of a king
  8. root — of a plant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. root — the cause
  11. wind — moving air
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. court — for sport
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. root — of a word
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. press — a publisher
  20. track — to keep track
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. track — a song
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. press — to push

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