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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: board · band · hand · rush · spell · cold · bulb · cabinet

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. hand — help
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. band — a ring
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. spell — letters
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bulb — for light
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spell — magic
  18. band — a music group
  19. board — to get on
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. board — a committee

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