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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: drill · band · cold · season · stick · calf · degree · bulb

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. degree — from a university
  3. drill — army training
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. drill — the tool
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cold — not warm
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. band — a music group
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. season — of the year
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cold — an illness
  19. drill — a practice
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. season — in sport
  23. band — a ring
  24. bulb — for light

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