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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. court — of law
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. spring — of water
  7. court — of a king
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. court — for sport
  13. spring — the season
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chair — a leader
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light

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