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

Word bank: safe · pitch · bulb · court · season · stem

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. season — in sport
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. court — for sport
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — completely
  11. stem — to come from
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. season — of the year
  16. court — of a king
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. court — of law

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