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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. court — for sport
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kid — to tease
  6. net — in sport
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. net — for catching
  10. kid — child
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. board — a committee
  13. court — of law
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. net — after costs
  17. board — to get on
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. court — of a king

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