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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: court · shower · perch · stem · bear · cue · tear · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bear — the animal
  5. court — of a king
  6. cue — a signal
  7. court — for sport
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. court — of law
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bear — the animal
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. shower — to wash
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. shower — rain
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cue — for pool
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  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