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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: root · prune · bat · lie · mine · wake · rock · game

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. game — wild animals
  3. root — the cause
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wake — a trail
  14. root — of a plant
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. root — of a word
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. game — a match
  24. bat — the animal

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