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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. court — for sport
  3. land — to come down
  4. ball — a great time
  5. cap — a lid
  6. clip — for paper
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. land — a country
  10. court — of a king
  11. bank — for money
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bank — for money
  15. ball — a dance
  16. clip — to cut
  17. land — ground
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. clip — a video
  23. cap — a hat
  24. court — of law

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