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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: perch · spell · sharp · wound · current · cold

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wound — an injury
  4. current — electric
  5. spell — letters
  6. current — of water
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cold — an illness
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cold — not warm
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. perch — the fish

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