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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: season · swing · saw · hand · jam · prune · toast · root

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. toast — bread
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. season — of the year
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. root — the cause
  7. hand — help
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — of a plant
  10. season — in sport
  11. swing — to play on
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. swing — in golf
  15. hand — in cards
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. saw — the tool
  18. swing — music
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. saw — the tool
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. toast — the most admired

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