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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: perch · shower · file · arm · rule · staff

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. staff — employees
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rule — government
  5. staff — employees
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. staff — a stick
  10. rule — a law
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain

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