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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: mouse · perch · mine · shower · tube · stem · squash · tear

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. shower — to wash
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. squash — the sport
  10. tube — a container
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stem — to come from
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. squash — to crush
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. shower — rain
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. perch — the fish

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