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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: bulb · board · hand · tear · fan · craft · ground · nail

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. tear — to rip
  3. board — a committee
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bulb — for light
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bulb — for light
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. craft — a skill
  16. ground — a position
  17. craft — boats
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ground — the earth
  20. hand — in cards
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. hand — help

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