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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bulb — for light
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. court — of law
  7. capital — money
  8. court — of a king
  9. swing — music
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. capital — a city
  14. court — for sport
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. swing — to play on
  17. band — a ring
  18. march — the month
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. swing — in golf
  22. march — music
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. band — a music group

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