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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
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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: court · land · bore · bulb · squash · rush · spring · chair

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. court — of a king
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rush — hurry
  7. land — a country
  8. court — for sport
  9. bore — to drill
  10. land — ground
  11. bulb — for light
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bulb — for light
  14. spring — the season
  15. land — to come down
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. chair — a leader
  18. spring — a coil
  19. court — of law
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. spring — of water
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bore — to tire
  24. squash — the sport

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