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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 120 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 · shower · row · charge · spring · face · rule · wind

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. spring — the season
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spring — a coil
  7. row — a line
  8. rule — government
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. face — to confront
  14. charge — a price
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. face — part of the head
  17. shower — to wash
  18. spring — of water
  19. perch — the fish
  20. row — to paddle
  21. face — to point toward
  22. charge — in control
  23. rule — a law
  24. charge — electricity

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