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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · racket · sharp · ground · march · chest · land · bear

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. march — the month
  3. land — to come down
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. sharp — clever
  10. ground — crushed
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. march — the month
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. chest — of your body
  16. march — music
  17. bear — the animal
  18. land — a country
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bear — the animal
  24. sharp — with an edge

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