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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
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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: tube · last · shower · mug · season · stock · land · perch

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. last — to go on
  6. stock — shares
  7. tube — the underground
  8. mug — to rob
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. season — in sport
  11. last — finally
  12. shower — rain
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. perch — the fish
  15. stock — goods
  16. mug — a face
  17. shower — to wash
  18. land — to come down
  19. season — of the year
  20. mug — a cup
  21. last — final
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. tube — a container

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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