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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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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: craft · root · swing · content · foot · clip · court · toast

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. root — of a word
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. root — of a plant
  7. clip — to cut
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. toast — bread
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. court — for sport
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. craft — boats
  15. swing — in golf
  16. clip — a video
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. foot — a measure
  19. court — of a king
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. craft — a skill
  22. content — the amount
  23. clip — for paper
  24. root — the cause

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