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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. last — finally
  3. march — the month
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bulb — for light
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. march — music
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. mark — a trace
  11. last — final
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. march — the month
  20. kid — child
  21. mine — for digging
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bulb — of a plant
  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