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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: nail · court · fall · bulb · spring · game · stem · rash

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. spring — of water
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rash — hasty
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. game — wild animals
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fall — to drop
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. bulb — for light
  13. court — of a king
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. game — a match
  18. spring — the season
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. fall — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bulb — for light
  24. rash — a series

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