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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: cold · rash · root · field · court · pitcher · chair · prune

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. cold — not warm
  3. chair — a leader
  4. root — the cause
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. prune — to trim
  8. field — a subject
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — an illness
  11. court — of a king
  12. field — for sport
  13. root — of a word
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. court — of law
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rash — hasty
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. court — for sport
  23. rash — a series
  24. field — farmland

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