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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bound — certain
  4. bulb — for light
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bound — tied together
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wake — a trail
  14. court — for sport
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bulb — for light
  17. court — of law
  18. pit — in a race
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bound — obliged
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pit — a hole

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