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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. key — for a lock
  3. spell — a short time
  4. snap — to click
  5. root — the cause
  6. season — of the year
  7. court — of law
  8. key — in music
  9. spell — magic
  10. root — of a word
  11. season — in sport
  12. spell — letters
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bat — the animal
  15. root — of a plant
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. key — the most important part
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. court — for sport
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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