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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: date · snap · shower · mug · rash · perch · cue · kid

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kid — child
  5. mug — to rob
  6. kid — to tease
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cue — for pool
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. rash — hasty
  12. date — the fruit
  13. mug — a cup
  14. mug — a face
  15. shower — to wash
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. snap — to click
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. cue — a signal
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. rash — a series
  24. cue — a hint

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