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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.

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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: craft · rule · face · pass · bulb · band · net · march

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. band — a ring
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. rule — government
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bulb — for light
  9. band — a music group
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pass — a permit
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. net — after costs
  16. rule — a law
  17. craft — a skill
  18. face — to confront
  19. march — music
  20. bulb — for light
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. craft — boats
  24. face — to point toward

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