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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. march — music
  3. game — a match
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. spring — the season
  9. march — the month
  10. spring — of water
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bulb — for light
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. march — the month
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bound — certain
  20. game — wild animals
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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