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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 120 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 · mine · tube · rash · perch · spell · fork · stick

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. fork — in a road
  6. spell — magic
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. tube — a container
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mine — for digging
  14. tube — the underground
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. spell — letters
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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