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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mug — to rob
  3. rest — a break
  4. court — of a king
  5. bulb — for light
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. swing — music
  9. foot — a measure
  10. rest — what's left
  11. court — of law
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mug — a cup
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mug — a face
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. swing — in golf

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