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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: key · tear · mark · last · court · prune · racket · root

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — for sport
  4. last — finally
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. root — the cause
  7. mark — a grade
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — of a word
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mark — a trace
  13. tear — from crying
  14. last — final
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. tear — from crying
  17. key — the most important part
  18. key — for a lock
  19. prune — to trim
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. court — of law
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. key — in music
  24. last — to go on

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