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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: rock · shower · perch · rule · craft · rest · can · field

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rule — government
  3. craft — boats
  4. can — to be able to
  5. rest — a break
  6. rule — a law
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. craft — a skill
  10. field — a subject
  11. can — a tin
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. can — a tin
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rock — music
  22. shower — rain
  23. rest — what's left
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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