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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: bound · saw · bulb · court · can · mate · prune · cold

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. court — of law
  3. can — to be able to
  4. court — of a king
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bulb — for light
  7. mate — a friend
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. prune — to trim
  12. can — a tin
  13. cold — not warm
  14. court — for sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bound — tied together
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mate — a partner
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bound — certain
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mate — to breed
  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