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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cell — in biology
  3. court — for sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. net — for catching
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. race — humankind
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. court — of a king
  13. rest — what's left
  14. court — of law
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. net — in sport
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bore — to tire
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. race — a contest

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