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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 120 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. last — to go on
  7. court — of law
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. last — finally
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. court — for sport
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. pound — a weight
  22. last — final
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bulb — for light

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