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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · degree · pound · bulb · pass · drill · shower · land

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. drill — the tool
  3. shower — to wash
  4. land — ground
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. drill — a practice
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. bulb — for light
  10. shower — rain
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. land — a country
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. band — a music group
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. degree — from a university
  17. land — to come down
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — a weight
  21. drill — army training
  22. pass — a permit
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bulb — for light

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