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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. clip — for paper
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. ball — a dance
  10. march — the month
  11. field — a subject
  12. clip — to cut
  13. foot — a measure
  14. field — farmland
  15. march — music
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pop — soda
  18. march — the month
  19. field — for sport
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. clip — a video
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. branch — a division

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