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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: pop · last · wind · root · stand · wound · ground · prune

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. root — of a word
  3. wind — moving air
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. last — final
  7. ground — the earth
  8. last — to go on
  9. root — the cause
  10. pop — soda
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. ground — crushed
  14. wound — an injury
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pop — music
  17. last — finally
  18. pop — to visit
  19. stand — to bear
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. ground — a position

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