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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: bear · bulb · can · perch · cold · fall · date · lean

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. can — to be able to
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. can — a tin
  12. cold — an illness
  13. perch — the fish
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. can — a tin
  16. bear — the animal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. date — the fruit
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fall — the season
  22. lean — thin
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lean — to bend

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