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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. court — of law
  3. row — to paddle
  4. spring — a coil
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. spring — of water
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. hand — in cards
  10. track — a path
  11. cell — a phone
  12. spring — the season
  13. track — to keep track
  14. root — of a plant
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. track — a song
  17. court — of a king
  18. cell — in biology
  19. toast — bread
  20. root — the cause
  21. hand — help
  22. root — of a word
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. court — for sport

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