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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 116 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. shower — rain
  6. court — of a king
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bulb — for light
  10. game — wild animals
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bass — low music
  13. row — a line
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. court — of law
  17. object — an aim
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. shower — to wash
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bass — the fish
  22. cold — not warm
  23. game — a match
  24. cold — an illness

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