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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. chair — a leader
  9. kick — in football
  10. net — for catching
  11. last — to go on
  12. court — of law
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — of a plant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. last — final
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. root — the cause
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. last — finally
  24. trunk — of a tree

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