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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: fork · hand · sharp · bulb · march · hide · wound · present

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bulb — for light
  3. hand — help
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. march — music
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. present — there
  8. sharp — clever
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — the time now
  24. march — the month

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