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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: cue · bulb · cold · bark · object · bank · patient · degree

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bank — for money
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. object — to protest
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. cue — for pool
  11. bark — to shout
  12. object — an aim
  13. bank — of a river
  14. cue — a signal
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cue — a hint
  17. degree — an amount
  18. object — a thing
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bank — for money
  23. cold — not warm
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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