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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 116 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
468
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: kid · scale · march · root · pop · patient · bulb · bay

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — of a word
  5. bulb — for light
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. march — the month
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pop — to visit
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. root — the cause
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. march — the month
  16. bulb — for light
  17. scale — size or range
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. scale — in music
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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