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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bound — tied together
  3. court — for sport
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. root — of a plant
  7. swing — in golf
  8. net — after costs
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. net — for catching
  11. swing — to play on
  12. root — of a word
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bound — certain
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. root — the cause
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bound — obliged
  19. net — in sport
  20. key — for a lock
  21. court — of a king
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. key — in music
  24. swing — music

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