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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: bulb · court · tube · mouse · bound · land · bat · ground

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. court — of a king
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. tube — a container
  5. land — to come down
  6. court — of law
  7. land — a country
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bound — tied together
  11. ground — a position
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. ground — the earth
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bound — certain
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bound — obliged
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. court — for sport
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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