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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 120 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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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 · bat · saw · root · kid · object · court · pound

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. root — of a plant
  4. court — of law
  5. root — the cause
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. object — a thing
  11. bat — the animal
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. kid — child
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. game — wild animals
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. game — a match
  23. root — of a word
  24. object — to protest

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