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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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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: snap · march · sharp · shower · present · spring · cap · perch

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. present — there
  4. snap — to click
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cap — of ice
  9. present — the time now
  10. cap — a lid
  11. spring — of water
  12. present — a gift
  13. spring — the season
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. march — music
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. shower — to wash
  19. perch — the fish
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. spring — a coil
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cap — a hat

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