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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.

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: season · cell · bass · key · content · bulb · court · firm

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. court — of a king
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. key — for a lock
  5. cell — a phone
  6. firm — steady
  7. bass — the fish
  8. court — of law
  9. firm — decided
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. court — for sport
  12. bulb — for light
  13. season — in sport
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — low music
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. key — in music
  20. firm — a company
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bulb — for light
  23. season — of the year
  24. bulb — of a plant

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