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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: jam · root · capital · prune · bowl · field · ruler · swing

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. field — for sport
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. swing — music
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. prune — to trim
  12. root — the cause
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. swing — to play on
  15. field — farmland
  16. swing — in golf
  17. root — of a plant
  18. field — a subject
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. capital — money
  21. root — of a word
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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