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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. court — for sport
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — for pool
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. fall — the season
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. ground — a position
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mine — for digging
  13. court — of law
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — of a king
  17. cue — a signal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. fall — to drop
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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