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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bulb — for light
  3. court — of a king
  4. season — in sport
  5. bulb — for light
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. season — of the year
  8. kid — child
  9. current — of water
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stand — to bear
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. current — happening now
  16. court — for sport
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. court — of law
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. current — electric
  24. mine — for digging

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