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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. track — a song
  3. court — for sport
  4. bulb — for light
  5. firm — decided
  6. bulb — for light
  7. season — in sport
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. mark — a trace
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. track — to keep track
  16. firm — steady
  17. game — a match
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. season — of the year
  20. court — of law
  21. stem — to come from
  22. track — a path
  23. firm — a company
  24. game — wild animals

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