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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 120 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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. root — of a word
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. spring — the season
  6. court — of a king
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. spring — of water
  10. court — for sport
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bound — obliged
  14. root — the cause
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. court — of law
  19. bound — tied together
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bound — certain
  24. deal — to handle

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