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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 · deal · root · bat · content · perch · vault · lean

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. perch — the fish
  3. lean — thin
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. content — happy
  8. vault — a safe
  9. root — the cause
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. court — for sport
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bat — the animal
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. lean — to bend
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. court — of law
  21. content — the amount
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. court — of a king

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