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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: jam · wind · cold · court · bulb · key

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. key — in music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. court — of a king
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. court — of law
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wind — moving air
  17. key — for a lock
  18. jam — to spread on bread

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