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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: bat · wind · toast · cell · court · root · season · wake

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. root — of a word
  4. toast — bread
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. season — of the year
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. court — of a king
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. court — of law
  20. season — in sport
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. root — the cause
  23. court — for sport
  24. wake — a trail

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