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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 120 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: squash · rock · tear · ground · present · field · root · prune

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. present — there
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. ground — the earth
  5. tear — from crying
  6. field — farmland
  7. squash — the sport
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — a gift
  10. tear — from crying
  11. root — of a word
  12. field — for sport
  13. ground — a position
  14. squash — to crush
  15. root — of a plant
  16. prune — to trim
  17. ground — crushed
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. root — the cause
  20. tear — to rip
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — music
  24. field — a subject

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