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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: fall · ground · root · court · scale · date · fine · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. court — of a king
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. date — the fruit
  6. root — the cause
  7. court — of law
  8. scale — in music
  9. root — of a word
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fine — high quality
  12. ground — the earth
  13. root — of a plant
  14. fine — all right
  15. fall — the season
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. court — for sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. wound — an injury
  24. scale — size or range

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