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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. root — of a plant
  3. court — of a king
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. root — of a word
  10. date — the fruit
  11. kid — child
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. court — for sport
  14. capital — a city
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chair — a leader
  19. court — of law
  20. bat — the animal
  21. capital — money
  22. root — the cause
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bat — for baseball

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