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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: cabinet · date · perch · bass · sharp · bulb · field · wound

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. field — a subject
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. field — farmland
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. sharp — clever
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. field — for sport
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bass — the fish
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bulb — of a plant

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