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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: season · capital · prune · rest · game · trunk · root · mouse

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rest — a break
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. season — in sport
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. rest — what's left
  10. season — of the year
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rest — what's left
  13. root — of a plant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. game — a match
  17. root — of a word
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. root — the cause
  20. capital — money
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. prune — to trim
  23. capital — a city
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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