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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: trunk · cold · hide · snap · stock · root · court · kick

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  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 law
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — the cause
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. root — of a plant
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. court — of a king
  13. kick — in football
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. snap — to click
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  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