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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: perch · tube · mate · shower · tear · wind · lean · squash

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. wind — moving air
  6. squash — to crush
  7. tube — the underground
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lean — thin
  11. mate — to breed
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mate — a partner
  19. shower — rain
  20. squash — the sport
  21. shower — to wash
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tube — a container
  24. mate — a friend

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