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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: tear · nail · pop · prune · spring · root · object · kid

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. kid — child
  3. tear — from crying
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kid — to tease
  6. spring — of water
  7. tear — to rip
  8. spring — the season
  9. object — an aim
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pop — music
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — to protest
  15. spring — a coil
  16. tear — from crying
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. pop — soda
  19. prune — to trim
  20. root — the cause
  21. pop — to visit
  22. root — of a plant
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. root — of a word

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