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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 · bulb · net · mine · content · pop · fall · cabinet

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pop — to visit
  4. content — the amount
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fall — the season
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. content — happy
  11. net — for catching
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pop — music
  15. net — after costs
  16. bulb — for light
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. net — in sport
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. court — of a king

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