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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: march · court · root · straw · bass · band · cap · bulb

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bulb — for light
  3. root — of a plant
  4. cap — a hat
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. band — a music group
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. court — of a king
  11. bulb — for light
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cap — of ice
  14. court — for sport
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. march — the month
  18. court — of law
  19. march — the month
  20. root — of a word
  21. bass — low music
  22. march — music
  23. root — the cause
  24. band — a ring

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