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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 116 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. present — a gift
  4. root — of a plant
  5. court — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. present — there
  9. root — of a word
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. field — a subject
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a great time
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. root — the cause
  17. field — for sport
  18. saw — the tool
  19. court — of a king
  20. saw — the tool
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. present — the time now
  24. ball — a round shape

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