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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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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 · chest · bark · capital · ruler · root · pop · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pop — music
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. capital — money
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chest — of your body
  12. root — of a word
  13. pop — to visit
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. root — the cause
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. capital — a city
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pop — soda
  24. bark — of a tree

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