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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. present — there
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. last — to go on
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. last — finally
  10. present — a gift
  11. current — of water
  12. perch — the fish
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. present — the time now
  16. field — farmland
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — in cards
  22. current — happening now
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. current — electric

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