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

Word bank: fall · perch · wind · bulb · cabinet · cold · foot · rash

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rash — a series
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bulb — for light
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fall — the season
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — a measure
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. perch — for a bird
  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