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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: club · swing · fine · net · ground · season · root · prune

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. net — for catching
  2. club — for dancing
  3. prune — to trim
  4. club — a group
  5. swing — to play on
  6. ground — a position
  7. season — of the year
  8. fine — high quality
  9. net — in sport
  10. root — of a plant
  11. net — after costs
  12. fine — all right
  13. swing — music
  14. season — in sport
  15. club — for golf
  16. root — of a word
  17. swing — in golf
  18. prune — to trim
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. root — the cause
  21. ground — the earth
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. ground — crushed
  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