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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.

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: root · kid · perch · rush · mine · straw · game · court

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. root — of a word
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. court — for sport
  9. kid — child
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. court — of a king
  14. root — the cause
  15. rush — hurry
  16. perch — the fish
  17. game — wild animals
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. court — of law
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. root — of a plant
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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