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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: bulb · land · current · chest · sharp · tear · last · craft

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bulb — for light
  4. tear — from crying
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. chest — a box
  8. current — electric
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. craft — a skill
  11. bulb — for light
  12. tear — from crying
  13. current — happening now
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. tear — to rip
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. chest — of your body
  20. craft — boats
  21. current — of water
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. last — final
  24. chest — of your body

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