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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: nail · sharp · march · lean · bulb · bass · shower · wound

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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. lean — to bend
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bulb — for light
  7. shower — rain
  8. lean — thin
  9. march — the month
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. wound — an injury
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. march — music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bulb — for light
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bass — low music
  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