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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. court — for sport
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. court — of law
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. root — of a word
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. net — for catching
  13. cell — in biology
  14. root — the cause
  15. march — music
  16. cell — a phone
  17. ground — crushed
  18. net — after costs
  19. pitch — completely
  20. rush — hurry
  21. court — of a king
  22. ground — a position
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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