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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. clip — a video
  5. face — part of the head
  6. rock — a stone
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. content — the amount
  9. root — of a word
  10. rock — music
  11. root — the cause
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. face — to confront
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. chip — for betting
  18. face — to point toward
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. clip — for paper
  24. root — of a plant

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