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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. root — of a word
  5. spring — the season
  6. court — for sport
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. court — of a king
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. spring — of water
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rock — music
  14. rule — government
  15. court — of law
  16. root — of a plant
  17. pound — a weight
  18. race — a contest
  19. rock — a stone
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. spring — a coil
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. root — the cause

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