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

Word bank: root · clip · game · court · bore · deal · calf · cell

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to tire
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. deal — to handle
  7. game — a match
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bore — to drill
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. root — the cause
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. court — of law
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. clip — for paper
  22. root — of a word
  23. court — for sport
  24. root — of a plant

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