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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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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: cap · perch · shower · stick · bark · tear · temple · racket

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. shower — rain
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. perch — the fish
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cap — a lid
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cap — of ice
  23. tear — to rip
  24. shower — to wash

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