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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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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: tear · cap · perch · stand · rule · wake · bass · shower

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tear — from crying
  3. perch — the fish
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cap — a hat
  7. rule — a law
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bass — low music
  10. rule — government
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stand — to bear
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wake — a trail
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bass — the fish
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. shower — rain

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