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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. net — after costs
  3. court — of a king
  4. mug — a cup
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bulb — for light
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. court — for sport
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. suit — in cards
  11. field — a subject
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. cold — an illness
  14. net — in sport
  15. mug — to rob
  16. field — farmland
  17. bulb — for light
  18. field — for sport
  19. suit — to fit
  20. court — of law
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mug — a face
  24. net — for catching

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