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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: bass · drill · land · chest · wound · track · plane · bulb

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. track — a song
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chest — of your body
  8. track — a path
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. land — a country
  11. bass — the fish
  12. chest — a box
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. land — to come down
  15. track — to keep track
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. land — ground
  19. plane — a tool
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. drill — the tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bass — low music

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