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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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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: firm · bulb · rash · cold · bat · rule · perch · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cold — an illness
  5. last — final
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. firm — steady
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. firm — a company
  12. last — to go on
  13. rule — government
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bulb — for light
  16. perch — the fish
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rule — a law
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. firm — decided
  21. rash — a series
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bulb — for light

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