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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: scale · shower · mark · rush · perch · cold · rest · ground

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rush — hurry
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. mark — a grade
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. shower — rain
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. scale — size or range
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. shower — to wash
  20. scale — in music
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mark — a trace
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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