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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. content — happy
  5. net — in sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. kid — to tease
  10. court — of law
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. court — for sport
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. kid — child
  15. content — the amount
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. bulb — of a plant

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