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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: field · march · pound · kid · squash · roll · pass · bulb

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. bulb — for light
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. pass — a permit
  7. squash — to crush
  8. march — music
  9. kid — child
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. field — farmland
  16. roll — a list
  17. squash — the sport
  18. march — the month
  19. field — a subject
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. march — the month
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. field — for sport

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