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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 120 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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. court — for sport
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spell — a short time
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ground — a position
  8. spell — magic
  9. ground — the earth
  10. court — of law
  11. board — a committee
  12. court — of a king
  13. root — the cause
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. root — of a plant
  20. board — to get on
  21. bat — the animal
  22. root — of a word
  23. spell — letters
  24. board — a flat piece

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