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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: degree · rest · calf · shower · cap · land · lash · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. land — a country
  5. shower — rain
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. land — ground
  9. rest — a break
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. degree — an amount
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. degree — temperature
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. cap — a hat
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. degree — from a university
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. land — to come down

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