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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. spring — a coil
  5. swing — to play on
  6. row — a line
  7. court — of law
  8. bulb — for light
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. court — of a king
  11. can — to be able to
  12. spring — the season
  13. can — a tin
  14. present — a gift
  15. swing — music
  16. bulb — for light
  17. court — for sport
  18. present — there
  19. row — to paddle
  20. swing — in golf
  21. present — the time now
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spring — of water

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