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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 124 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. row — a line
  3. fall — to drop
  4. snap — to click
  5. court — of a king
  6. bulb — for light
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. club — for dancing
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. court — for sport
  14. club — for golf
  15. court — of law
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. fall — the season
  21. bulb — for light
  22. club — a group
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fall — to drop

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