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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. stand — to bear
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. spring — the season
  5. rock — music
  6. court — of a king
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. degree — temperature
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bore — to drill
  11. degree — an amount
  12. court — for sport
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. stand — for spectators

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