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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: land · last · track · bark · sharp · plane · bulb · kick

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — ground
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bark — to shout
  6. track — a song
  7. bulb — for light
  8. last — final
  9. track — a path
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. last — to go on
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. land — to come down
  14. plane — a tool
  15. last — finally
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. kick — in football
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. track — to keep track
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. land — a country
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bulb — of a plant

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