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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: bank · perch · shower · fork · pass · wound · temple · kid

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — for money
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bank — of a river
  7. pass — a permit
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. kid — child
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. wound — an injury
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. shower — to wash
  24. perch — the fish

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