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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: mug · mark · cold · bulb · degree · row · band · bank

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. band — a ring
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bank — of a river
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bank — for money
  9. mug — to rob
  10. degree — temperature
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. row — a line
  13. cold — not warm
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mug — a face
  16. row — to paddle
  17. band — a music group
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bank — for money
  24. bulb — of a plant

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