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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: craft · march · ground · bulb · chest · fall · shower · drill

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. drill — a practice
  6. fall — to drop
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. craft — boats
  10. bulb — for light
  11. ground — crushed
  12. drill — the tool
  13. shower — rain
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fall — to drop
  16. march — the month
  17. drill — army training
  18. shower — to wash
  19. fall — the season
  20. ground — a position
  21. chest — a box
  22. craft — a skill
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bulb — for light

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