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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: perch · kid · stock · bulb · patient · pound · bear · bat

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. kid — to tease
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pound — a weight
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bear — the animal
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. perch — the fish
  15. kid — child
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bear — the animal
  19. stock — goods
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bat — the animal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. stock — shares

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