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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: last · root · prune · cap · ground · kick · squash · kid

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. ground — a position
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. root — of a plant
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. last — final
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — the cause
  12. cap — a hat
  13. ground — crushed
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. ground — the earth
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cap — of ice
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cap — a lid
  22. last — finally
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kid — child

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