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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 116 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: court · clip · season · dip · snap · leaves · root · bat

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. root — of a plant
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. snap — to click
  5. season — in sport
  6. dip — to sink
  7. root — of a word
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bat — the animal
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. root — the cause
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. season — of the year
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. court — of law
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. court — for sport

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