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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: bulb · fall · roll · foot · bat · saw · march · squash

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bat — the animal
  3. foot — a measure
  4. squash — the sport
  5. fall — to drop
  6. march — the month
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. roll — a list
  10. squash — to crush
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. march — music
  14. roll — a cake
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. march — the month
  18. fall — the season
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bat — in an idiom

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