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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. court — of law
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. net — in sport
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — the time now
  14. root — of a plant
  15. rush — hurry
  16. court — of a king
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fall — the season
  22. root — the cause
  23. present — there
  24. root — of a word

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