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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. root — of a plant
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. court — of a king
  6. land — to come down
  7. court — for sport
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. root — of a word
  13. court — of law
  14. land — a country
  15. root — the cause
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. dip — to sink
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. land — ground
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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