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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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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: fork · stem · court · game · land · root · kid · bass

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. land — to come down
  3. fork — in a road
  4. root — of a plant
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — low music
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. court — of law
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. root — the cause
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. stem — to come from
  16. court — of a king
  17. land — a country
  18. root — of a word
  19. game — wild animals
  20. kid — child
  21. land — ground
  22. game — a match
  23. court — for sport
  24. kid — to tease

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