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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: cold · perch · bulb · land · deal · drill · arm · firm

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. bulb — for light
  3. firm — steady
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. drill — a practice
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. deal — to handle
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bulb — for light
  14. drill — the tool
  15. firm — decided
  16. cold — not warm
  17. land — to come down
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. firm — a company
  20. drill — army training
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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