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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: game · fork · spring · root · can · chair · court · cabinet

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. court — of law
  3. can — a tin
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. spring — a coil
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. root — of a plant
  8. can — a tin
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. game — wild animals
  11. root — of a word
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. court — for sport
  15. root — the cause
  16. spring — of water
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spring — the season
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. game — a match
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. court — of a king
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. can — to be able to

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