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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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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: root · cell · hand · bowl · plane · prune · court · ruler

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. root — of a word
  3. hand — help
  4. prune — to trim
  5. court — of a king
  6. root — of a plant
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cell — a phone
  12. root — the cause
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. court — of law
  22. cell — in biology
  23. plane — a tool
  24. ruler — for measuring

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