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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: tear · perch · present · clip · bowl · court · deal · shower

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. clip — to cut
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. tear — to rip
  8. shower — rain
  9. court — for sport
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — the time now
  12. court — of a king
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. deal — to handle
  15. present — there
  16. court — of law
  17. shower — to wash
  18. tear — from crying
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. clip — a video
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. clip — for paper
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. tear — from crying

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