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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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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 · chair · current · cold · tube · court · pit · arm

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. perch — the fish
  6. current — happening now
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cold — an illness
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. pit — a hole
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. tube — a container
  14. pit — in a race
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. tube — the underground
  18. current — of water
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. court — of law

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