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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: cold · foot · squash · swing · field · root · cell · prune

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cold — an illness
  3. field — farmland
  4. root — the cause
  5. prune — to trim
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. swing — music
  10. cell — in biology
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. foot — a measure
  14. cold — not warm
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. root — of a word
  17. field — a subject
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cell — a phone
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. squash — to crush
  22. root — of a plant
  23. field — for sport
  24. squash — the sport

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