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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: fan · chest · bulb · cap · firm · game · court · wound

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. court — of law
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. firm — decided
  8. firm — steady
  9. court — for sport
  10. cap — a lid
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bulb — for light
  13. court — of a king
  14. chest — of your body
  15. game — a match
  16. chest — a box
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cap — of ice
  21. firm — a company
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cap — a hat
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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