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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: last · shower · can · straw · perch · season · degree · drill

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. season — of the year
  4. can — to be able to
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — a practice
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. degree — an amount
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. degree — temperature
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. shower — rain
  17. season — in sport
  18. can — a tin
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. drill — army training
  21. can — a tin
  22. perch — the fish
  23. shower — to wash
  24. last — finally

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