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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 124 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. tear — from crying
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. staff — a stick
  8. court — for sport
  9. staff — employees
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. tear — from crying
  16. staff — employees
  17. wake — a trail
  18. tear — to rip
  19. root — the cause
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wake — before a funeral

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