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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: squash · march · row · perch · cabinet · bound · pitcher · shower

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. shower — to wash
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. march — the month
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. march — the month
  11. squash — to crush
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bound — tied together
  14. row — a line
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. row — to paddle
  18. march — music
  19. bound — obliged
  20. shower — rain
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bound — certain

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