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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: bound · bat · craft · march · date · bulb · bass · band

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. march — the month
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bat — the animal
  6. band — a music group
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bulb — for light
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — tied together
  12. date — the fruit
  13. march — the month
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — the fish
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bass — low music
  18. craft — boats
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. band — a ring
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. march — music

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