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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 · bore · chair · shower · prune · swing · foot · band

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. perch — the fish
  6. band — a ring
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. bore — to drill
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. swing — music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bore — to tire
  15. swing — to play on
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. foot — a measure
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. swing — in golf
  22. band — a music group
  23. shower — rain
  24. prune — to trim

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