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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: shower · track · bass · perch · wind · calf · march · deal

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bass — low music
  4. shower — rain
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. wind — moving air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. track — a path
  12. march — music
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bass — the fish
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. track — a song
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. perch — the fish

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