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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: stem · march · cold · date · ball · land · bulb · rush

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. march — the month
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bulb — for light
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. ball — a dance
  11. stem — to come from
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. cold — not warm
  15. land — to come down
  16. bulb — for light
  17. land — a country
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. land — ground
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. march — music
  23. ball — a great time
  24. march — the month

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