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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pop — soda
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bulb — for light
  6. ball — a great time
  7. pop — music
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. ball — a dance
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. court — for sport
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. hand — in cards
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. pop — to visit
  24. perch — for a bird

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