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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.

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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: fall · kid · court · staff · wake · pit · root · net

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. staff — employees
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — of a word
  7. net — for catching
  8. fall — the season
  9. pit — in a race
  10. fall — to drop
  11. court — of a king
  12. net — after costs
  13. root — the cause
  14. staff — employees
  15. net — in sport
  16. pit — a hole
  17. fall — to drop
  18. court — of law
  19. kid — child
  20. court — for sport
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. kid — to tease

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