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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 120 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 · season · fork · shower · bound · tear · chip · present

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. tear — from crying
  3. season — of the year
  4. fork — in a road
  5. chip — for betting
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. season — in sport
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — obliged
  11. perch — the fish
  12. present — a gift
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. tear — to rip
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. present — there
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bound — certain
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. tear — from crying
  24. present — the time now

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