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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: shower · charge · perch · wind · bulb · band · bat · bear

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. band — a ring
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bulb — for light
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. charge — in control
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. perch — the fish
  12. charge — a price
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. wind — moving air
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. band — a music group
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bat — the animal
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. charge — electricity

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