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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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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: jam · pop · trunk · march · bound · spring · bulb · hand

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pop — music
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. march — the month
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bound — certain
  10. pop — to visit
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. bound — tied together
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bulb — for light
  15. march — the month
  16. spring — of water
  17. hand — in cards
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — the season
  21. march — music
  22. pop — soda
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. hand — help

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