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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. degree — from a university
  3. court — of law
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bulb — for light
  6. court — of a king
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bulb — for light
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. season — of the year
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. spring — a coil
  14. lean — to bend
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. court — for sport
  17. degree — an amount
  18. lean — thin
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. degree — temperature
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. spring — the season

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