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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: leaves · bulb · spell · march · snap · pitcher · race · cell

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. snap — to click
  3. march — the month
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. race — a contest
  7. cell — in biology
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. march — the month
  12. spell — a short time
  13. march — music
  14. cell — a phone
  15. spell — magic
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spell — letters
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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