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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 · last · chair · toast · court · can · mine · kid

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. root — the cause
  4. toast — bread
  5. last — finally
  6. court — of a king
  7. can — to be able to
  8. court — for sport
  9. kid — to tease
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — a tin
  13. root — of a plant
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. last — to go on
  16. kid — child
  17. court — of law
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. chair — a leader
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. root — of a word
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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