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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: band · rest · march · bulb · bat · pitcher · board · stock

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. band — a music group
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rest — what's left
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. march — music
  8. band — a ring
  9. bulb — for light
  10. stock — goods
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. march — the month
  18. board — a committee
  19. rest — a break
  20. board — to get on
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bat — the animal
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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