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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: court · swing · bound · race · face · ground · root · net

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bound — obliged
  3. court — of a king
  4. swing — music
  5. net — in sport
  6. ground — crushed
  7. face — to confront
  8. swing — to play on
  9. ground — a position
  10. court — of law
  11. net — for catching
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a word
  14. face — part of the head
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bound — certain
  17. face — to point toward
  18. net — after costs
  19. race — a contest
  20. swing — in golf
  21. ground — the earth
  22. root — of a plant
  23. race — humankind
  24. court — for sport

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