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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · wind · toast · cell · court · root

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. wind — moving air
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — of a plant
  7. toast — bread
  8. bat — the animal
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. court — of a king
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. root — the cause

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