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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: track · sharp · bass · bulb · wound · hand · ground · spell

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bulb — for light
  4. track — a song
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bass — low music
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. track — to keep track
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. track — a path
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — clever
  14. spell — letters
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spell — magic
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bulb — for light
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. spell — a short time

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