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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pop — to visit
  4. court — for sport
  5. pop — soda
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. rush — hurry
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — of law
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cold — an illness
  19. court — of a king
  20. pop — music
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. trunk — of a car
  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