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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: bark · prune · press · root · kick · game · land · rest

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rest — a break
  4. prune — to trim
  5. game — wild animals
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. root — of a plant
  9. rest — what's left
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — newspapers
  13. kick — in football
  14. game — a match
  15. bark — to shout
  16. press — to push
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rest — what's left
  20. root — the cause
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. land — a country
  23. root — of a word
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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