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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. court — for sport
  3. cell — in biology
  4. court — of a king
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. court — of law
  11. rock — music
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bat — the animal
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rock — a stone
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bulb — for light
  22. clip — a video
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rush — hurry

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