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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: perch · prune · rest · tear · shower · cabinet · roll · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. roll — a cake
  3. shower — rain
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. fall — to drop
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rest — what's left
  9. prune — to trim
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fall — the season
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rest — what's left
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. rest — a break
  20. tear — from crying
  21. roll — a list
  22. tear — to rip
  23. prune — the fruit
  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