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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. court — of a king
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. court — of law
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. branch — a division
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cell — a phone
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. court — for sport
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. branch — of a tree
  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