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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. capital — a city
  4. net — after costs
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. capital — money
  7. court — of a king
  8. bore — to tire
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to drill
  12. court — of law
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cell — in biology
  15. hand — in cards
  16. net — in sport
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. hand — help
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bulb — for light
  23. court — for sport
  24. cell — a phone

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