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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: track · capital · bulb · temple · jam · band · cold · board

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cold — an illness
  4. band — a music group
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. bulb — for light
  10. board — to get on
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. cold — not warm
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. track — a song
  18. board — a committee
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. track — to keep track
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. band — a ring

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