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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: fan · court · staff · kid · root · press · nail · tear

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. root — of a plant
  4. court — of law
  5. staff — a stick
  6. press — a publisher
  7. root — of a word
  8. tear — from crying
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. court — for sport
  15. tear — to rip
  16. press — to push
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. press — newspapers
  19. court — of a king
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. tear — from crying
  24. root — the cause

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