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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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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 · rest · current · land · tear · racket · fine · wind

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. tear — from crying
  3. current — electric
  4. current — of water
  5. fine — all right
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — the fish
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rest — a break
  10. wind — moving air
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. land — to come down
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. rest — what's left
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. land — a country
  19. land — ground
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. rest — what's left
  23. current — happening now
  24. perch — for a bird

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