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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: degree · root · lie · land · ball · content · court · chest

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. root — of a plant
  4. ball — a great time
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. root — the cause
  7. lie — to recline
  8. chest — of your body
  9. land — a country
  10. chest — a box
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. land — ground
  14. court — of a king
  15. degree — an amount
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. root — of a word
  19. land — to come down
  20. court — for sport
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chest — of your body
  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