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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
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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: cabinet · fan · court · ball · last · chest · degree · root

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. ball — a great time
  4. root — of a plant
  5. last — to go on
  6. chest — a box
  7. last — final
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. degree — temperature
  12. court — of law
  13. ball — a dance
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. degree — from a university
  16. root — of a word
  17. court — for sport
  18. degree — an amount
  19. root — the cause
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. chest — of your body
  23. court — of a king
  24. last — finally

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