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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. court — for sport
  3. bulb — for light
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — a stone
  8. court — of a king
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. rock — music
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cell — in biology
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. court — of law
  18. fork — in a road
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. cell — a phone
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. kick — in football
  24. spring — of water

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