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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: stem · drill · root · band · court · bat · game · lie

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. court — of law
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. game — a match
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. root — the cause
  15. lie — to recline
  16. stem — to come from
  17. game — wild animals
  18. drill — army training
  19. court — for sport
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. band — a ring
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. root — of a word

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