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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: press · pop · mine · season · root · prune · hand · stand

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. pop — music
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mine — for digging
  6. press — a publisher
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. season — of the year
  9. root — of a word
  10. hand — help
  11. prune — to trim
  12. press — newspapers
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — soda
  16. stand — to bear
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a plant
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. press — to push
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mine — an explosive

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