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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.

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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: court · root · wind · present · rush · season · leaves · cell

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. root — of a word
  6. present — there
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. season — of the year
  10. root — the cause
  11. present — a gift
  12. root — of a plant
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. wind — moving air
  15. court — of law
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. season — in sport

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