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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: shower · last · perch · scale · land · dip · sharp · bay

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. shower — to wash
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. sharp — clever
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. land — a country
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. last — final
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. dip — to sink
  16. shower — rain
  17. land — ground
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. land — to come down
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. perch — the fish
  23. dip — to dunk
  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