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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: perch · squash · shower · file · cue · capital · bark · nail

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — a hint
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. shower — rain
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. file — a line of people
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. file — a tool
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. file — a document
  20. capital — a city
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. capital — money
  23. cue — for pool
  24. perch — the fish

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