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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 120 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: prune · tube · bark · pop · field · wake · fan · root

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. root — the cause
  4. prune — to trim
  5. field — a subject
  6. pop — music
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bark — to shout
  11. root — of a word
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pop — to visit
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. tube — a container
  19. field — farmland
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. root — of a plant
  22. field — for sport
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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