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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: pass · temple · shower · perch · rest · cold · tear · fine

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. shower — rain
  8. cold — an illness
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. pass — a permit
  14. tear — from crying
  15. perch — the fish
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. tear — from crying
  20. shower — to wash
  21. fine — high quality
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. fine — all right
  24. tear — to rip

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