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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. season — of the year
  3. net — for catching
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. last — to go on
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. current — happening now
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. net — after costs
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. present — the time now
  19. net — in sport
  20. season — in sport
  21. current — electric
  22. present — a gift
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. present — there

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