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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: wind · march · cabinet · shower · craft · mate · bulb · court

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. shower — to wash
  3. craft — boats
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. march — music
  8. bulb — for light
  9. craft — a skill
  10. court — for sport
  11. mate — a partner
  12. court — of a king
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. court — of law
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a friend
  22. march — the month
  23. shower — rain
  24. march — the month

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