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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · root · jam · content · last · prune

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. root — the cause
  3. root — of a word
  4. content — happy
  5. last — finally
  6. present — the time now
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. present — a gift
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. last — to go on
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. root — of a plant
  15. prune — to trim
  16. content — the amount
  17. prune — to trim
  18. present — there

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