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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: content · plane · shower · perch · drill · mate · rock · arm

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. mate — to breed
  3. shower — rain
  4. perch — the fish
  5. rock — music
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. content — happy
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. drill — a practice
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. drill — army training
  15. content — the amount
  16. plane — a tool
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mate — a partner
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. mate — a friend
  23. drill — the tool
  24. rock — a stone

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