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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: firm · perch · rest · land · shower · kid · wave · content

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. land — a country
  8. rest — a break
  9. content — happy
  10. land — to come down
  11. firm — a company
  12. content — the amount
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. kid — to tease
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. firm — steady
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. land — ground
  22. rest — what's left
  23. perch — the fish
  24. rest — what's left

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