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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 116 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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. capital — money
  5. bank — for money
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. court — of a king
  8. branch — a division
  9. bulb — for light
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cold — an illness
  14. court — of law
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — of a river
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. court — for sport
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. capital — a city

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