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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 120 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. pop — music
  3. file — a line of people
  4. court — for sport
  5. cell — in biology
  6. court — of a king
  7. season — of the year
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. net — for catching
  11. bulb — for light
  12. net — in sport
  13. file — a document
  14. net — after costs
  15. pop — soda
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. court — of law

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