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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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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: drill · cell · chest · court · spring · bulb · pit · rash

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. drill — a practice
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spring — the season
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. cell — a phone
  9. chest — a box
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. pit — a hole
  12. spring — of water
  13. chest — of your body
  14. drill — the tool
  15. rash — a series
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. drill — army training
  19. bulb — for light
  20. spring — a coil
  21. court — of a king
  22. rash — hasty
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rash — on the skin

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