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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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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: shower · arm · race · row · fall · perch · wake · squash

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. shower — to wash
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. squash — the sport
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. race — a contest
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. fall — the season
  10. perch — the fish
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. race — humankind
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. fall — to drop
  18. shower — rain
  19. squash — to crush
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. arm — part of the body

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