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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: bulb · roll · board · cold · march · branch · rush · sharp

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rush — hurry
  3. march — music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. march — the month
  7. board — to get on
  8. march — the month
  9. cold — not warm
  10. board — a committee
  11. sharp — clever
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. roll — a list
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bulb — for light
  24. branch — a division

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