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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. rush — hurry
  4. board — a committee
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mine — for digging
  7. saw — the tool
  8. court — for sport
  9. root — the cause
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. degree — from a university
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. degree — temperature
  20. board — to get on
  21. saw — the tool
  22. root — of a plant
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. root — of a word

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