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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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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: rash · band · net · bulb · court · ball · squash · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rash — hasty
  4. march — music
  5. ball — a great time
  6. court — of law
  7. net — after costs
  8. march — the month
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. squash — to crush
  12. court — of a king
  13. bulb — for light
  14. band — a ring
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. ball — a dance
  17. squash — the sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. court — for sport
  20. rash — a series
  21. net — in sport
  22. band — a music group
  23. bulb — for light
  24. ball — a round shape

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