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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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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: face · stand · ground · bat · root · saw · temple · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. ground — the earth
  4. root — of a word
  5. prune — to trim
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. root — the cause
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bat — the animal
  11. root — of a plant
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. saw — the tool
  15. stand — to bear
  16. face — to confront
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. ground — a position
  20. face — to point toward
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. ground — crushed

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