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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. land — to come down
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fall — the season
  6. land — a country
  7. fall — to drop
  8. court — of a king
  9. land — ground
  10. spring — a coil
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. court — of law
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. fall — to drop
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bulb — for light
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. court — for sport
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bulb — for light
  24. scale — in music

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