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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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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: prune · fork · mouse · root · swing · pit · cold · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. cold — an illness
  3. root — of a word
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cold — not warm
  8. swing — in golf
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. root — of a plant
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fork — in a road
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pit — a hole
  24. root — the cause

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