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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cold — not warm
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — help
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bear — the animal
  10. court — of a king
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cap — a lid
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. foot — a measure
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. hand — in cards
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cold — the Cold War

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