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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: cell · bowl · track · object · perch · hand · shower · tear

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  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. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. track — a song
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. object — an aim
  6. cell — a phone
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. shower — rain
  12. hand — in cards
  13. object — to protest
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. hand — help
  17. tear — to rip
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cell — in biology
  20. perch — the fish
  21. tear — from crying
  22. object — a thing
  23. bowl — a dish
  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