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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: perch · firm · cue · bore · rule · shower · spell · chest

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. shower — to wash
  3. firm — a company
  4. spell — letters
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. shower — rain
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bore — to drill
  12. spell — magic
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — for pool
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cue — a signal
  19. rule — a law
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — steady
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. spell — a short time
  24. chest — of your 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