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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: bulb · bank · dip · cold · race · field · drill · bear

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — of a river
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bulb — for light
  5. field — a subject
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bear — the animal
  8. race — humankind
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. bank — for money
  11. field — for sport
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. drill — army training
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bear — the animal
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bulb — for light
  19. race — a contest
  20. field — farmland
  21. dip — to sink
  22. drill — the tool
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bulb — of a plant

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