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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 116 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 · net · chair · face · snap · bat · key · court

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. face — part of the head
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. net — after costs
  5. court — of law
  6. key — for a lock
  7. chair — a leader
  8. root — of a plant
  9. court — of a king
  10. key — in music
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. root — the cause
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. face — to point toward
  16. court — for sport
  17. key — the most important part
  18. net — for catching
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. net — in sport
  21. root — of a word
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. face — to confront

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