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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: deal · mate · patient · bulb · scale · perch · cold · track

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. track — to keep track
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. track — a song
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. track — a path
  13. deal — to handle
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bulb — for light
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. scale — in music
  19. mate — a friend
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mate — to breed
  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