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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fall — to drop
  3. march — the month
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bulb — for light
  6. roll — a cake
  7. hand — in cards
  8. roll — a list
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. ball — a dance
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bulb — for light
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. march — the month
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ground — crushed

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