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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. court — of law
  4. rock — music
  5. rest — a break
  6. root — of a plant
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. court — for sport
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rest — what's left
  11. root — of a word
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. kick — in football
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. root — the cause
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rest — what's left

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