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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: mark · trunk · mate · root · safe · cold · prune · ground

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. mate — a friend
  3. root — of a word
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. mate — to breed
  7. root — the cause
  8. mark — a trace
  9. cold — not warm
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mark — a grade
  14. root — of a plant
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. prune — to trim
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. ground — a position
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cold — an illness

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