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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: bat · cold · bulb · degree · capital · bank · fine · lash

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bank — for money
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. degree — temperature
  9. capital — a city
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bank — for money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fine — high quality
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. capital — money
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. fine — all right
  24. lash — an eyelash

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