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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: court · ruler · root · key · cue · clip · mark · content

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cue — a signal
  4. root — of a word
  5. content — the amount
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. root — the cause
  9. cue — a hint
  10. court — of a king
  11. key — the most important part
  12. clip — a video
  13. key — in music
  14. key — for a lock
  15. mark — a trace
  16. court — of law
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. court — for sport
  20. mark — a grade
  21. content — happy
  22. cue — for pool
  23. root — of a plant
  24. ruler — for measuring

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