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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: court · bank · field · fan · march · rest · rash · bulb

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. court — of a king
  3. rash — hasty
  4. field — a subject
  5. march — music
  6. bulb — for light
  7. court — for sport
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bank — of a river
  10. rest — what's left
  11. court — of law
  12. bulb — for light
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — the month
  15. rest — a break
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bank — for money
  18. field — for sport
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rash — a series
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bank — for money
  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