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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. game — a match
  6. court — for sport
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cold — an illness
  12. court — of a king
  13. cap — of ice
  14. stock — goods
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cap — a hat
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. court — of law
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. stand — to bear
  22. cap — a lid
  23. stock — shares
  24. stand — for spectators

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