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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: nail · bowl · game · ground · root · prune · spring · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. prune — to trim
  6. game — wild animals
  7. ground — a position
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. root — of a word
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. spring — a coil
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. spring — of water
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. game — a match
  17. spring — the season
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. ground — the earth
  23. root — the cause
  24. nail — for a hammer

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