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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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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 · bound · mark · track · pitch · pass · cold · band

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bound — certain
  3. band — a ring
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bound — tied together
  9. track — to keep track
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. track — a path
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mark — a trace
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. band — a music group
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. track — a song

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