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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: march · bound · cold · band · safe · deal · degree · bulb

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bound — tied together
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. band — a music group
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bulb — for light
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. band — a ring
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. march — the month
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — certain
  16. degree — from a university
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cold — an illness
  21. deal — to handle
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. cold — not warm

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