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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: cap · fork · pitcher · straw · perch · mine · shower · pound

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fork — in a road
  9. shower — to wash
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. perch — for a bird

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