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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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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: board · cue · last · root · track · bulb · hand · court

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. court — of law
  3. cue — for pool
  4. court — for sport
  5. last — final
  6. court — of a king
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. cue — a hint
  10. track — to keep track
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. root — the cause
  13. bulb — for light
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. track — a song
  17. root — of a word
  18. board — to get on
  19. last — to go on
  20. cue — a signal
  21. last — finally
  22. bulb — for light
  23. track — a path
  24. board — a flat piece

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