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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. court — of law
  3. spring — the season
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. court — of a king
  9. root — of a plant
  10. court — for sport
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. spring — of water
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. spring — a coil
  16. shower — rain
  17. fine — high quality
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. root — of a word
  20. fine — all right
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. shower — to wash
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. root — the cause

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