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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: mug · cue · perch · net · shower · game · fan · mine

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mug — to rob
  4. cue — a signal
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. mine — for digging
  9. net — in sport
  10. mug — a face
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mug — a cup
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cue — for pool
  15. net — after costs
  16. cue — a hint
  17. game — a match
  18. net — for catching
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. shower — rain
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. perch — for a bird
  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