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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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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: suit · content · saw · lash · shower · pound · perch · row

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. shower — rain
  3. suit — to fit
  4. content — the amount
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. suit — clothes
  10. perch — the fish
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pound — a weight
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. suit — in cards
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. row — a line
  24. perch — for a bird

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