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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. squash — the sport
  4. root — of a plant
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. mark — a grade
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mark — a trace
  11. court — for sport
  12. cap — a lid
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. fork — in a road
  17. cap — a hat
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. root — of a word
  20. court — of law
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cap — of ice
  23. root — the cause
  24. squash — to crush

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