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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 120 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
468
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: shower · march · perch · prune · capital · fan · fall · mark

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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. mark — a grade
  4. march — music
  5. capital — a city
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. march — the month
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. shower — rain
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mark — a trace
  16. perch — the fish
  17. march — the month
  18. fall — the season
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. prune — to trim

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