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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stem — to come from
  3. court — of a king
  4. season — in sport
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bound — certain
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bound — obliged
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. court — of law
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. season — of the year
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bound — tied together
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. season — to add flavour
  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