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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: march · squash · bulb · court · track · drill · sharp · rest

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. court — for sport
  3. march — music
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. track — to keep track
  6. court — of law
  7. march — the month
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. track — a song
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. march — the month
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. court — of a king
  15. bulb — for light
  16. track — a path
  17. rest — what's left
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bulb — for light
  21. drill — a practice
  22. sharp — clever
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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