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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cue · field · roll · capital · stock · root · kid

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. cue — a signal
  3. field — for sport
  4. root — of a plant
  5. roll — a list
  6. capital — money
  7. cue — a hint
  8. court — of law
  9. root — the cause
  10. stock — shares
  11. kid — child
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. field — a subject
  14. roll — a cake
  15. field — farmland
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. root — of a word
  19. capital — a city
  20. court — of a king
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cue — for pool
  23. court — for sport
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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