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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: stem · season · craft · shower · perch · lie · bark · ground

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. craft — boats
  3. ground — crushed
  4. craft — a skill
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. lie — to recline
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. shower — rain
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. ground — the earth
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. season — in sport
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. season — of the year
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. ground — a position
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bark — to shout
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. stem — to come from

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