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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. root — of a plant
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. fall — the season
  11. stem — to come from
  12. fall — to drop
  13. court — of law
  14. board — a committee
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. court — of a king
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — the cause
  20. court — for sport
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. fall — to drop
  24. season — in sport

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