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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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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. court — for sport
  3. bulb — for light
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. capital — a city
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bulb — for light
  8. capital — money
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fall — the season
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. court — of a king
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. court — of law
  16. snap — to click
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. fall — to drop

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