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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: shower · perch · race · stock · date · press · wind · fall

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. date — the fruit
  3. press — newspapers
  4. fall — the season
  5. wind — moving air
  6. race — humankind
  7. press — to push
  8. stock — goods
  9. shower — to wash
  10. fall — to drop
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. press — a publisher
  17. stock — shares
  18. shower — rain
  19. perch — the fish
  20. race — the arms race
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. race — a contest
  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