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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · march · fork · spell · last · bulb · cabinet · scale

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. bulb — for light
  4. court — of a king
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. court — for sport
  8. spell — magic
  9. scale — size or range
  10. last — to go on
  11. spell — letters
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. march — the month
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. last — final
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. last — finally
  23. court — of law
  24. fork — in a road

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