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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: cap · root · deal · spring · pop · court · bark · tube

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. pop — to visit
  5. root — the cause
  6. tube — a container
  7. bark — to shout
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. spring — the season
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. pop — music
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cap — of ice
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. cap — a hat
  18. deal — to handle
  19. court — for sport
  20. pop — soda
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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