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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: current · hide · perch · degree · wind · file · mark · sharp

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. degree — temperature
  5. current — happening now
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wind — moving air
  8. file — a tool
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mark — a trace
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. degree — from a university
  14. current — of water
  15. file — a document
  16. wind — moving air
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. degree — an amount
  19. file — a line of people
  20. current — electric
  21. perch — the fish
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. mark — a grade
  24. sharp — clever

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