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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. court — for sport
  4. toast — bread
  5. bound — tied together
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. tube — the underground
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bound — certain
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bulb — for light
  16. court — of law
  17. tube — a container
  18. court — of a king
  19. chip — to eat
  20. bound — obliged
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. vault — a safe
  24. chip — for betting

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