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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. root — of a plant
  5. court — for sport
  6. bound — tied together
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. court — of law
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. root — of a word
  16. chair — a leader
  17. tube — a container
  18. court — of a king
  19. root — the cause
  20. bound — certain
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to click
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bat — the animal

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