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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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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: bulb · cue · fork · roll · wind · stand · court · clip

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. court — of law
  3. clip — to cut
  4. court — for sport
  5. clip — for paper
  6. roll — a cake
  7. clip — a video
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stand — to bear
  10. cue — a signal
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. court — of a king
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bulb — for light
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a list
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cue — for pool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. fork — a garden tool

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