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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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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: cold · march · wound · firm · bulb · stick · cap · perch

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. march — music
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cap — a hat
  9. firm — a company
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. cold — not warm
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wound — an injury
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — decided
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. march — the month
  22. cap — of ice
  23. march — the month
  24. perch — the fish

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