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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 · root · cell · bound · straw · board · rock · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  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. cold — not warm
  2. court — of a king
  3. cold — an illness
  4. board — to get on
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cell — in biology
  7. board — a committee
  8. court — for sport
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bound — tied together
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bound — certain
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rock — a stone
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. bound — obliged
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — music
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. root — of a plant
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cell — a phone
  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