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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: net · file · perch · shower · sharp · stem · roll · rash

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. perch — the fish
  3. shower — rain
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. file — a line of people
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. net — in sport
  8. rash — a series
  9. net — for catching
  10. stem — to come from
  11. file — a tool
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. roll — a list
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. roll — a cake
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. file — a document

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