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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: land · prune · perch · field · court · spring · jam · root

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. land — ground
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. perch — the fish
  9. prune — to trim
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. land — to come down
  14. root — of a word
  15. spring — of water
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — a country
  18. court — of law
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. root — of a plant
  24. field — farmland

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