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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: firm · jam · drill · fan · row · root · hand · court

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. court — of a king
  5. drill — the tool
  6. root — the cause
  7. drill — army training
  8. firm — decided
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. hand — help
  11. firm — a company
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. firm — steady
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. row — to paddle
  17. hand — in cards
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. root — of a plant
  21. drill — a practice
  22. row — a line
  23. root — of a word
  24. court — for sport

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