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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: mark · swing · shower · tear · rash · kid · leaves · perch

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. tear — to rip
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. swing — music
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — a trace
  11. shower — to wash
  12. tear — from crying
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. rash — hasty
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. swing — to play on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. shower — rain
  21. swing — in golf
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. kid — to tease

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