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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. court — of a king
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. row — to paddle
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a plant
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. court — for sport
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. court — of law
  18. wind — moving air

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