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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · bay · clip · bat · mouse · bulb · court · season

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. season — of the year
  3. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. court — of law
  6. clip — a video
  7. season — in sport
  8. clip — for paper
  9. court — for sport
  10. bat — the animal
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. clip — to cut
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bulb — for light
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. court — of a king
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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