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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: plane · shower · current · root · rule · perch · sharp · spell

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. spell — magic
  4. current — electric
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. spell — letters
  7. rule — government
  8. root — of a plant
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spell — a short time
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. shower — rain
  15. current — happening now
  16. perch — the fish
  17. rule — a law
  18. root — of a word
  19. current — of water
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. plane — a tool
  23. root — the cause
  24. plane — in geometry

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