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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: season · current · kid · clip · perch · bank · rest · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. season — of the year
  3. current — electric
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — part of the head
  6. kid — child
  7. rest — what's left
  8. season — in sport
  9. clip — to cut
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. current — of water
  12. kid — to tease
  13. clip — a video
  14. rest — a break
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. current — happening now
  17. bank — for money
  18. rest — what's left
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. clip — for paper
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — of a river

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