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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
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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: leaves · prune · capital · root · hide · field · safe · cold

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. field — a subject
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a city
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. field — for sport
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. capital — money
  10. cold — not warm
  11. root — of a plant
  12. cold — an illness
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. field — farmland
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. root — the cause
  23. safe — out of danger
  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