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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: prune · straw · root · mug · chest · spring · content · kick

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — to rob
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. root — the cause
  9. prune — to trim
  10. content — the amount
  11. prune — to trim
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — of a plant
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mug — a face
  18. spring — a coil
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. kick — in football
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. content — happy

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