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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: bear · race · shower · perch · firm · ground · rule · present

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. firm — decided
  5. present — there
  6. shower — rain
  7. rule — government
  8. race — a contest
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. rule — a law
  11. firm — steady
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bear — the animal
  15. race — the arms race
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. firm — a company
  18. bear — the animal
  19. present — the time now
  20. perch — the fish
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. race — humankind
  23. ground — a position
  24. present — a gift

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