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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: band · degree · bass · cold · patient · cue · bulb · board

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cue — a hint
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. board — a committee
  7. cue — for pool
  8. bass — the fish
  9. band — a ring
  10. degree — an amount
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. band — a music group
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — not warm
  22. board — to get on
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bass — low music

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