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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: hide · wind · prune · spring · root · court · stock · kick

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. stock — shares
  4. root — of a word
  5. court — for sport
  6. spring — the season
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. root — of a plant
  11. court — of a king
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wind — moving air
  14. root — the cause
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. prune — to trim
  17. spring — of water
  18. kick — in football
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. court — of law
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. stock — goods

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