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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. last — finally
  3. march — the month
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spring — the season
  6. cue — for pool
  7. last — final
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. cue — a signal
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. tube — a container
  14. field — farmland
  15. swing — music
  16. bulb — for light
  17. march — the month
  18. spring — of water
  19. cue — a hint
  20. field — for sport
  21. march — music
  22. spring — a coil
  23. field — a subject
  24. last — to go on

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