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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. spring — a coil
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. clip — to cut
  6. court — for sport
  7. spring — of water
  8. court — of a king
  9. firm — steady
  10. bulb — for light
  11. firm — decided
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. clip — a video
  16. bulb — for light
  17. court — of law
  18. firm — a company
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wound — an injury
  23. clip — for paper
  24. row — a line

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