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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: perch · mate · shower · fork · rash · prune · stock · chest

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. perch — the fish
  5. chest — of your body
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chest — a box
  9. fork — in a road
  10. chest — of your body
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rash — hasty
  13. mate — to breed
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stock — goods
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mate — a partner
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rash — a series
  22. mate — a friend
  23. shower — rain
  24. stock — shares

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