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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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. court — of a king
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. court — for sport
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. field — for sport
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. court — of law
  16. squash — the sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. field — a subject
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bulb — for light
  22. field — farmland
  23. chest — a box
  24. rest — a break

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