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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: degree · fork · deal · perch · firm · cold · bulb · mouse

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bulb — for light
  12. firm — steady
  13. firm — a company
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cold — not warm
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bulb — for light
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. firm — decided
  23. degree — from a university
  24. perch — for a bird

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