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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fine · drill · shower · roll · arm · perch · kick · land

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. shower — to wash
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a cake
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. land — a country
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. land — ground
  15. fine — high quality
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. fine — all right
  20. kick — in football
  21. land — to come down
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. roll — a list

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