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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: court · spell · root · mate · cold · mark · pitcher · hand

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mark — a trace
  4. cold — not warm
  5. root — the cause
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. spell — magic
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. spell — a short time
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cold — an illness
  14. hand — in cards
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. hand — help
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mate — a partner
  22. spell — letters
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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