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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: cold · bear · squash · mate · band · safe · prune · root

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. prune — to trim
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — the cause
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mate — a friend
  8. band — a music group
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. squash — to crush
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mate — a partner
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. band — a ring
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. squash — the sport
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. root — of a word
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bear — the animal

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