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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: rule · cold · game · shower · rest · perch · firm · press

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. firm — a company
  6. rule — a law
  7. rest — what's left
  8. perch — the fish
  9. firm — steady
  10. cold — not warm
  11. firm — decided
  12. rest — what's left
  13. shower — to wash
  14. game — wild animals
  15. shower — rain
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. press — newspapers
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cold — an illness
  22. press — to push
  23. rest — a break
  24. press — a publisher

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