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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: bay · spring · ground · shower · foot · spell · sharp · perch

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  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. sharp — exactly
  2. spell — a short time
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. spring — of water
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spell — letters
  10. foot — a measure
  11. ground — the earth
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. shower — to wash
  14. spell — magic
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. sharp — clever
  17. shower — rain
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. spring — the season
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. spring — a coil
  23. foot — the bottom
  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