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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 120 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: sharp · bore · trunk · bulb · cold · chest · march · current

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. march — the month
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bulb — for light
  6. march — the month
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bore — to drill
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bulb — for light
  13. current — electric
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cold — an illness
  17. march — music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. current — happening now
  20. chest — a box
  21. current — of water
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bore — to tire
  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