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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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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: object · bass · bulb · game · fine · spring · branch · cold

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spring — a coil
  5. game — a match
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. spring — the season
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. object — an aim
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. spring — of water
  12. object — to protest
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bass — low music
  15. object — a thing
  16. branch — a division
  17. fine — all right
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bass — the fish
  23. fine — high quality
  24. branch — of a bank

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