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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. firm — a company
  4. root — of a plant
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pass — a permit
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. root — the cause
  12. game — wild animals
  13. kid — child
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. kid — to tease
  16. game — a match
  17. court — of law
  18. firm — decided
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. root — of a word
  24. firm — steady

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