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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. court — of law
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. court — of a king
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bulb — for light
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. court — for sport
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. deal — to handle
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. wake — a trail
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. deal — a big deal

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