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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: court · last · cap · clip · bulb · wax · rush · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. 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. present — a gift
  2. clip — a video
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. last — finally
  8. wax — to grow
  9. last — final
  10. court — of a king
  11. last — to go on
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bulb — for light
  14. present — there
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cap — of ice
  18. court — for sport
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bulb — for light
  21. clip — for paper
  22. present — the time now
  23. rush — hurry
  24. 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