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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. snap — to click
  3. court — of a king
  4. lean — to bend
  5. court — of law
  6. chair — a leader
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. court — for sport
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. lean — thin
  16. clip — a video
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. pit — in a race
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bulb — for light
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. chair — to sit on

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