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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: coach · rash · kid · saw · root · spring · prune · field

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. spring — the season
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spring — of water
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. rash — a series
  9. field — farmland
  10. spring — a coil
  11. prune — to trim
  12. saw — the tool
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rash — hasty
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kid — to tease
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. kid — child
  22. root — the cause
  23. saw — the tool
  24. root — of a word

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