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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: spring · drill · bulb · can · degree · band · toast · chip

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. can — a tin
  3. chip — to eat
  4. drill — army training
  5. can — to be able to
  6. spring — of water
  7. bulb — for light
  8. can — a tin
  9. band — a music group
  10. drill — a practice
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bulb — for light
  14. drill — the tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. spring — the season
  22. band — a ring
  23. degree — temperature
  24. toast — the most admired

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