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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: wound · court · safe · board · saw · roll · net · root

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. wound — an injury
  3. root — of a plant
  4. court — of law
  5. board — to get on
  6. roll — a list
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. court — for sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. court — of a king
  16. net — after costs
  17. root — the cause
  18. roll — a cake
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. board — a committee
  21. net — in sport
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. saw — the tool
  24. board — a flat piece

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