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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. root — of a word
  6. deal — to handle
  7. scale — in music
  8. rest — what's left
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bat — the animal
  11. hand — help
  12. rest — a break
  13. roll — a cake
  14. rest — what's left
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a list
  17. scale — size or range
  18. court — of law
  19. root — the cause
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. court — for sport
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. deal — an agreement

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