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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · shower · leaves · kid · fine · drill · perch · bat

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. perch — the fish
  7. face — to confront
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. bat — the animal
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. kid — child
  15. drill — the tool
  16. face — to point toward
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. face — part of the head
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kid — to tease
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. fine — high quality

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