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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. lean — to bend
  8. sharp — clever
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cell — a phone
  11. lean — thin
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pop — soda
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. court — of law
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pop — music
  21. bulb — for light
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bulb — for light
  24. court — for sport

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