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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pop · shower · march · bulb · straw · field · cabinet · coach

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bulb — for light
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pop — music
  9. shower — rain
  10. field — a subject
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. field — farmland
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pop — soda
  24. field — for sport

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