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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
468
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: bulb · cold · pit · spring · court · lean · prune · foot

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lean — to bend
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pit — in a race
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. pit — a hole
  10. lean — thin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bulb — for light
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cold — not warm
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. prune — to trim
  18. foot — a measure
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. court — of a king
  22. bulb — for light
  23. spring — the season
  24. court — for sport

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