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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
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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: game · pitcher · bulb · land · court · tube · chip · current

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. land — to come down
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. game — a match
  6. bulb — for light
  7. court — for sport
  8. current — electric
  9. bulb — for light
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. court — of law
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. current — of water
  18. land — a country
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. current — happening now
  23. court — of a king
  24. land — ground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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