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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 120 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: ruler · bulb · pound · cold · bound · game · land · march

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. land — to come down
  3. march — the month
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. march — music
  8. bound — obliged
  9. land — a country
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — a weight
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. game — a match
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. land — ground

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