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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: net · lie · root · stem · land · court · game · ball

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. court — for sport
  3. lie — to recline
  4. net — for catching
  5. root — of a plant
  6. land — to come down
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. court — of law
  13. net — in sport
  14. stem — to come from
  15. root — of a word
  16. land — a country
  17. game — wild animals
  18. root — the cause
  19. net — after costs
  20. ball — a great time
  21. land — ground
  22. ball — a dance
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. court — of a king

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