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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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 · court · snap · trunk · game · cold · season · root

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. root — of a word
  3. season — of the year
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. root — the cause
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. snap — to click
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. season — in sport
  16. game — wild animals
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cold — an illness
  19. ball — a great time
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cold — not warm
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. court — for sport
  24. ball — a dance

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