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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: jam · shower · march · object · perch · press · cap · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. march — the month
  4. shower — to wash
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. march — the month
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cap — of ice
  9. perch — the fish
  10. object — to protest
  11. shower — rain
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cap — a hat
  14. object — an aim
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. press — newspapers
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. press — to push
  20. march — music
  21. press — a publisher
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. object — a thing
  24. cap — a lid

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