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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 116 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: mark · mouse · band · perch · coach · last · cell · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. band — a ring
  5. mark — a grade
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cell — a phone
  10. perch — the fish
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mark — a trace
  13. last — to go on
  14. band — a music group
  15. last — finally
  16. shower — rain
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. last — final
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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