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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: deal · race · mug · fan · perch · row · march · shower

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. perch — the fish
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mug — a cup
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mug — to rob
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. mug — a face
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — humankind
  12. row — to paddle
  13. march — the month
  14. row — a line
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. march — the month
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. race — a contest
  22. march — music
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. deal — to handle

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