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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: wave · mate · court · cold · pit · root · last · arm

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. court — of law
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pit — in a race
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. mate — a friend
  10. cold — not warm
  11. last — to go on
  12. root — of a word
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mate — to breed
  17. last — finally
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. mate — a partner
  21. last — final
  22. pit — a hole
  23. root — the cause
  24. court — of a king

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