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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — in music
  4. bear — the animal
  5. key — the most important part
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bear — the animal
  13. march — music
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. bulb — for light
  16. drill — army training
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. court — of a king
  21. cold — not warm
  22. court — for sport
  23. bulb — for light
  24. court — of law

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