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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: court · lie · root · rest · dip · bat · degree · chest

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rest — what's left
  4. lie — to recline
  5. rest — what's left
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rest — a break
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. court — of law
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. degree — an amount
  16. court — for sport
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. root — of a plant
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. court — of a king
  22. dip — to sink
  23. root — the cause
  24. dip — to dunk

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