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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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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: bark · perch · land · fan · shower · jam · mine · nail

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. land — to come down
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. shower — rain
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. land — ground
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. perch — the fish
  14. mine — for digging
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bark — to shout
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. land — a country
  24. fan — a supporter

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