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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 · cold · temple · mug · wake · hand · bank · pit

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bulb — for light
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bank — for money
  6. pit — a hole
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mug — to rob
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. hand — in cards
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. hand — help
  13. mug — a face
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. mug — a cup
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bank — of a river
  24. pit — in a race

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