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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: firm · tube · object · perch · hand · net · race · shower

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. race — the arms race
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. firm — a company
  5. net — after costs
  6. object — an aim
  7. firm — decided
  8. object — to protest
  9. hand — in cards
  10. net — in sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tube — the underground
  13. net — for catching
  14. race — a contest
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. object — a thing
  18. race — humankind
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. shower — to wash
  22. firm — steady
  23. perch — the fish
  24. tube — a container

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