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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 120 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: club · root · court · pass · pitcher · chest · bulb · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pass — a permit
  3. club — for golf
  4. snap — to click
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. chest — of your body
  7. root — the cause
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. court — for sport
  13. root — of a plant
  14. chest — a box
  15. bulb — for light
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. club — for dancing
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. root — of a word
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. court — of a king
  23. club — a group
  24. court — of law

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