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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: rest · ball · spell · firm · bulb · mine · bat · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. march — music
  5. ball — a dance
  6. firm — steady
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bulb — for light
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bat — the animal
  11. spell — magic
  12. rest — what's left
  13. firm — a company
  14. bulb — for light
  15. march — the month
  16. firm — decided
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. ball — a great time
  20. rest — a break
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rest — what's left
  23. spell — letters
  24. bulb — of a plant

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