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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: temple · staff · band · shower · kid · cold · stock · bulb

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bulb — for light
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. band — a ring
  6. kid — child
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stock — goods
  10. staff — employees
  11. cold — an illness
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — a stick
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stock — shares
  19. bulb — for light
  20. kid — to tease
  21. shower — rain
  22. band — a music group
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — a place of worship

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