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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 116 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: bear · season · shower · perch · degree · last · pitcher · calf

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bear — the animal
  12. season — of the year
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. last — to go on
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. season — in sport
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. last — final
  24. bear — to put up with

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