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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: court · can · date · ball · march · pop · spring · saw

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. date — the fruit
  7. ball — a great time
  8. can — a tin
  9. ball — a dance
  10. court — of law
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pop — music
  13. can — to be able to
  14. march — music
  15. court — of a king
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. can — a tin
  19. spring — a coil
  20. court — for sport
  21. march — the month
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — soda
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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