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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: bat · bulb · fine · perch · cold · pound · object · trunk

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. perch — the fish
  4. object — an aim
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bulb — for light
  10. fine — high quality
  11. object — a thing
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. object — to protest
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. cold — an illness
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. fine — all right
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bulb — of a plant
  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