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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: craft · bat · tear · march · wound · last · bulb · safe

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. last — finally
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. march — the month
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bulb — for light
  10. tear — from crying
  11. last — to go on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. march — music
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bulb — for light
  18. last — final
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. craft — a skill
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. march — the month
  23. bat — the animal
  24. craft — a handicraft

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