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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: hand · shower · deal · stock · fall · present · perch · kid

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. fall — to drop
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fall — the season
  10. shower — rain
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. present — the time now
  14. fall — to drop
  15. present — there
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. stock — goods
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. deal — to handle
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stock — shares

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