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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: ground · land · stem · pitcher · temple · bulb · can · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. court — of a king
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bulb — for light
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. ground — the earth
  18. land — a country
  19. ground — a position
  20. can — a tin
  21. stem — to come from
  22. ground — crushed
  23. stem — of a plant
  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