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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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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: chip · stand · scale · snap · lean · land · court · root

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. scale — size or range
  5. land — ground
  6. lean — thin
  7. root — of a plant
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. scale — in music
  11. court — for sport
  12. stand — to bear
  13. root — the cause
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. land — to come down
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. land — a country
  21. root — of a word
  22. chip — for betting
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. chip — to eat

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