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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. bank — for money
  3. court — of law
  4. fine — all right
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — high quality
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bank — of a river
  12. root — of a word
  13. clip — for paper
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. root — the cause
  17. cell — in biology
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bank — for money
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. clip — a video
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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