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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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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: court · bulb · roll · tear · snap · straw · march · season

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. roll — a list
  3. march — music
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — for sport
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bulb — for light
  9. tear — from crying
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. court — of law
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bulb — for light
  15. roll — a cake
  16. court — of a king
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. season — of the year
  19. march — the month
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to click

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