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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: fine · root · tear · cell · row · land · court · bat

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. tear — from crying
  3. row — to paddle
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. root — of a plant
  7. land — a country
  8. tear — from crying
  9. root — of a word
  10. land — ground
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. court — of law
  13. fine — all right
  14. land — to come down
  15. court — of a king
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. bat — the animal
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. court — for sport
  23. fine — high quality
  24. root — the cause

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