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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: bulb · court · date · mark · cell · kick · fan · cold

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cold — not warm
  3. court — of a king
  4. cell — a phone
  5. date — the fruit
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. court — of law
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kick — in football
  12. court — for sport
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. bulb — for light
  19. mark — a grade
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mark — a trace
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cold — an illness

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