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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: kid · stick · present · shower · scale · wake · spring · perch

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. present — there
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. shower — to wash
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. present — the time now
  8. spring — the season
  9. wake — a trail
  10. present — a gift
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. scale — in music
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. shower — rain
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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