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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: fork · shower · pitch · rest · perch · face · lean · kid

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kid — child
  3. perch — the fish
  4. kid — to tease
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. lean — thin
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. face — to point toward
  11. lean — to bend
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. face — to confront
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. face — part of the head
  18. fork — in a road
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. rest — a break
  21. pitch — completely
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. shower — rain
  24. fork — to eat with

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