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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · mate · root · clip · bound · press · content · chair

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mate — a partner
  5. root — the cause
  6. clip — for paper
  7. court — of a king
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bound — certain
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bound — obliged
  12. mate — a friend
  13. press — to push
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bound — tied together
  16. press — newspapers
  17. mate — to breed
  18. clip — a video
  19. court — for sport
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. court — of law
  23. content — the amount
  24. chair — a leader

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