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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 116 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: fall · tube · dip · bulb · court · wake · hand · last

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. wake — a trail
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. last — finally
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fall — the season
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. court — of a king
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — the underground
  15. hand — help
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. court — of law
  22. dip — to sink
  23. fall — to drop
  24. dip — to dunk

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