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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: field · mark · lean · wake · shower · clip · rest · perch

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. shower — rain
  3. wake — a trail
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. rest — a break
  8. field — farmland
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to bend
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — a subject
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. rest — what's left
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. field — for sport
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mark — a trace
  22. clip — a video
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. lean — to rest against

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