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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: race · cue · bulb · content · fan · kid · court · staff

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. race — a contest
  4. staff — employees
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. staff — employees
  9. cue — a hint
  10. court — of a king
  11. kid — child
  12. race — the arms race
  13. court — for sport
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a signal
  17. content — happy
  18. staff — a stick
  19. kid — to tease
  20. court — of law
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. race — humankind
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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