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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 116 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: club · track · land · squash · prune · wind · scale · root

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wind — moving air
  3. club — for dancing
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. squash — the sport
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — the cause
  12. track — to keep track
  13. club — a group
  14. track — a song
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. track — a path
  18. wind — moving air
  19. prune — to trim
  20. land — to come down
  21. prune — to trim
  22. root — of a word
  23. scale — size or range
  24. prune — the fruit

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