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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: chest · court · net · bore · toast · bat · rule · root

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. chest — a box
  3. court — of law
  4. net — for catching
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. root — the cause
  7. net — after costs
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rule — a law
  10. court — of a king
  11. root — of a word
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. net — in sport
  16. bat — the animal
  17. root — of a plant
  18. court — for sport
  19. rule — government
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. bore — to drill
  24. toast — the most admired

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