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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. court — of law
  5. content — the amount
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. content — happy
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. net — after costs
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. net — in sport
  12. track — a path
  13. bulb — for light
  14. net — for catching
  15. bulb — for light
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. saw — the tool
  20. court — for sport
  21. saw — the tool
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. court — of a king
  24. track — to keep track

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