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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: root · court · nail · rest · object · bulb · cell · cold

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cold — not warm
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bulb — for light
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — the cause
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bulb — for light
  10. object — to protest
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rest — a break
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. cold — an illness
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. object — a thing
  18. rest — what's left
  19. object — an aim
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cell — in biology

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