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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.

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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: cell · board · bowl · mine · court · root · trunk · mate

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. board — a committee
  3. court — for sport
  4. mate — a partner
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. mate — to breed
  7. court — of a king
  8. mine — for digging
  9. root — of a word
  10. board — to get on
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. mate — a friend
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cell — in biology
  21. root — the cause
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. court — of law
  24. cell — in a prison

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