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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 need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. root — the cause
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. row — a line
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bulb — for light
  10. court — of law
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bulb — for light
  13. game — a match
  14. court — for sport
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. game — wild animals
  18. root — of a plant
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. root — of a word
  22. snap — to click
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rash — a series

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