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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wake · root · bat · court · row · press · season · swing

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. press — newspapers
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — in sport
  10. bat — the animal
  11. court — for sport
  12. swing — to play on
  13. root — the cause
  14. row — a line
  15. press — a publisher
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. court — of a king
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. row — to paddle
  20. press — to push
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wake — a trail
  24. root — of a word

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