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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: shower · craft · perch · arm · wake · tear · stick · date

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. shower — rain
  12. date — the fruit
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. shower — to wash
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. tear — to rip
  21. craft — boats
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. craft — a skill
  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