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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 · spring · degree · season · board · shower · bound · net

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. board — to get on
  2. season — of the year
  3. net — for catching
  4. spring — a coil
  5. board — a committee
  6. season — in sport
  7. spring — the season
  8. bulb — for light
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. spring — of water
  11. bound — certain
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bound — tied together
  14. net — after costs
  15. bulb — for light
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bound — obliged
  18. shower — rain
  19. degree — an amount
  20. net — in sport
  21. shower — to wash
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. degree — from a university
  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