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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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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 · bear · perch · cap · club · root · bowl · straw

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. root — of a plant
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. root — the cause
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bear — the animal
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. shower — rain
  14. cap — of ice
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. perch — the fish
  18. root — of a word
  19. shower — to wash
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. club — a group
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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