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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 120 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 · ball · bore · tear · degree · band · cell · lash

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. tear — to rip
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bore — to tire
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bulb — for light
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cell — a phone
  13. band — a ring
  14. bore — to drill
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. ball — a dance
  23. band — a music group
  24. degree — from a university

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