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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: racket · land · fork · pop · cabinet · perch · cold · shower

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pop — music
  3. shower — rain
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pop — to visit
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pop — soda
  12. cold — an illness
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cold — not warm
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. fork — in a road
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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