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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.

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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. march — music
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bulb — for light
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. drill — the tool
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. drill — army training
  12. scale — size or range
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. spring — of water
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. scale — in music
  18. spring — the season
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. spring — a coil
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bulb — for light

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