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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 116 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: chip · court · firm · net · wind · race · cap · root

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cap — of ice
  3. firm — decided
  4. chip — to eat
  5. root — of a word
  6. cap — a hat
  7. net — for catching
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. net — in sport
  10. court — of law
  11. cap — a lid
  12. net — after costs
  13. root — the cause
  14. court — of a king
  15. race — a contest
  16. firm — steady
  17. wind — moving air
  18. firm — a company
  19. race — the arms race
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. race — humankind
  23. chip — for betting
  24. wind — moving air

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