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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: bulb · content · perch · bat · cold · fork · mate · present

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. present — there
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cold — not warm
  8. present — the time now
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. mate — to breed
  16. fork — in a road
  17. content — the amount
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. perch — the fish
  21. content — happy
  22. present — a gift
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mate — a friend

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