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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: scale · band · ground · wind · perch · foot · content · shower

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. content — happy
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. scale — size or range
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ground — a position
  15. foot — a measure
  16. perch — the fish
  17. content — the amount
  18. band — a music group
  19. ground — crushed
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. band — a ring
  22. ground — the earth
  23. shower — rain
  24. scale — in music

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