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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 · pop · row · ball · march · nail · root · rush

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. march — music
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. rush — hurry
  4. pop — soda
  5. row — a line
  6. pop — to visit
  7. root — of a plant
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — the cause
  14. prune — to trim
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. pop — music
  18. ball — a great time
  19. prune — to trim
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. ball — a dance
  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