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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: perch · shower · wound · leaves · row · mouse · ground · hand

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. ground — a position
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. ground — crushed
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. hand — help
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. shower — to wash
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. row — to paddle
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — a line
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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