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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: pop · cold · row · club · court · bulb · tear · object

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. object — a thing
  5. pop — to visit
  6. tear — to rip
  7. club — for golf
  8. object — to protest
  9. pop — soda
  10. row — to paddle
  11. object — an aim
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. court — of law
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pop — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bulb — for light
  20. row — a line
  21. club — a group
  22. tear — from crying
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

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