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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.

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: mine · mate · court · game · spring · mouse · root · tear

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. root — of a word
  5. game — wild animals
  6. root — of a plant
  7. spring — of water
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. spring — the season
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. tear — from crying
  18. court — for sport
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mate — to breed
  23. root — the cause
  24. game — a match

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