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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. root — of a word
  3. field — for sport
  4. fine — all right
  5. key — in music
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. court — of a king
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. court — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. fine — high quality
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. snap — to click
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. root — the cause
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — for a lock
  21. root — of a plant
  22. field — farmland
  23. court — of law
  24. spring — a coil

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