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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. march — music
  3. bulb — for light
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. last — to go on
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — soda
  9. march — the month
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. stem — to come from
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. last — finally
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. march — the month
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. mouse — the animal

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