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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: kick · date · deal · last · root · spell · wound · court

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. root — of a word
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. deal — to handle
  6. kick — in football
  7. spell — letters
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. spell — a short time
  10. root — the cause
  11. last — to go on
  12. spell — magic
  13. court — for sport
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wound — an injury
  16. last — final
  17. root — of a plant
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. court — of law
  21. court — of a king
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. last — finally
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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