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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 116 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. court — for sport
  4. root — of a plant
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. court — of law
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — a law
  11. ball — a great time
  12. net — after costs
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. root — the cause
  15. net — for catching
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. court — of a king
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. root — of a word
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cold — an illness

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