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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. march — music
  4. snap — to click
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. field — a subject
  9. court — for sport
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. march — the month
  15. kick — in football
  16. cap — a lid
  17. root — of a word
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. march — the month
  21. court — of a king
  22. field — farmland
  23. root — the cause
  24. pitcher — a jug

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