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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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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: bark · racket · march · court · cap · file · mug · root

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. root — of a plant
  3. march — the month
  4. cap — a hat
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bark — to shout
  7. march — the month
  8. mug — to rob
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. cap — a lid
  13. march — music
  14. file — a document
  15. root — of a word
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mug — a cup
  18. root — the cause
  19. file — a tool
  20. cap — of ice
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mug — a face
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bark — of a tree

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