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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: perch · track · race · court · chest · shower · mouse · file

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. track — a song
  2. shower — rain
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. chest — of your body
  7. track — a path
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. race — humankind
  10. track — to keep track
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. court — for sport
  14. file — a tool
  15. shower — to wash
  16. race — the arms race
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. race — a contest
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. perch — for a bird
  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