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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.

Words on the sheet
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: lie · cold · bat · rash · content · perch · bulb · stock

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bat — the animal
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bulb — for light
  8. rash — hasty
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rash — a series
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. content — happy
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. stock — goods
  21. cold — an illness
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. rash — on the skin

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