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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: band · shower · march · chip · club · perch · date · wake

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. march — the month
  5. chip — for betting
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. club — for dancing
  8. date — the fruit
  9. club — a group
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. band — a music group
  12. march — music
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. march — the month
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. chip — to eat
  17. perch — the fish
  18. club — for golf
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wake — a trail
  21. band — a ring
  22. shower — to wash
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. date — on the calendar

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