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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: root · saw · court · cold · firm · stick · temple · land

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. saw — the tool
  3. court — for sport
  4. root — of a word
  5. land — a country
  6. cold — not warm
  7. court — of a king
  8. cold — an illness
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. land — to come down
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — a company
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. firm — steady
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. court — of law
  22. root — the cause
  23. land — ground
  24. root — of a plant

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