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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: last · club · court · pitcher · root · wound · net · racket

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. root — of a plant
  3. club — for golf
  4. root — the cause
  5. club — a group
  6. wound — an injury
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. last — finally
  9. net — for catching
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. last — final
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. net — in sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. court — for sport
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. last — to go on
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. root — of a word
  24. club — for dancing

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