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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: cold · mate · perch · toast · lash · sharp · shower · craft

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. craft — a skill
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. sharp — clever
  9. toast — bread
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — a friend
  12. craft — boats
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cold — an illness
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. mate — to breed
  18. shower — rain
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cold — not warm
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. toast — the most admired

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