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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.

Make a worksheet

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: bulb · ball · arm · date · degree · cold · band · charge

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. ball — a great time
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — a price
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. ball — a dance
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. band — a music group
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. charge — electricity
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. band — a ring
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bulb — for light
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. degree — an amount

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