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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 120 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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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: ball · arm · bat · court · perch · capital · root · lean

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. root — of a plant
  3. perch — the fish
  4. lean — thin
  5. court — of law
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. root — the cause
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. court — for sport
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. lean — to bend
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. court — of a king
  22. bat — the animal
  23. ball — a great time
  24. root — of a word

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