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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: last · row · bulb · mark · cold · chip · nail · band

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cold — not warm
  3. band — a music group
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. cold — an illness
  7. last — final
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mark — a trace
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bulb — for light
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. chip — for betting
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. band — a ring
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. mark — a grade

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