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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 120 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 was this ________________ built?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. court — for sport
  3. root — of a plant
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. field — for sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. court — of a king
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. root — of a word
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. clip — a video
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. snap — to click
  19. rest — a break
  20. court — of law
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. root — the cause
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fork — in a road

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