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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rock — music
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rock — a stone
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bulb — for light
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. bulb — for light
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. stem — to come from

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