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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: present · perch · kid · shower · rest · swing · fan · foot

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. perch — the fish
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. rest — a break
  7. shower — rain
  8. present — there
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. rest — what's left
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. foot — a measure
  17. swing — music
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. kid — child
  22. swing — in golf
  23. rest — what's left
  24. swing — to play on

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