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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
468
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: root · prune · net · bay · row · patient · bat · land

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. prune — to trim
  4. net — after costs
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. prune — to trim
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. land — ground
  14. net — for catching
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. land — a country
  19. root — of a word
  20. land — to come down
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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