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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: bear · fork · foot · perch · clip · current · last · band

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bear — the animal
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. band — a music group
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. band — a ring
  10. last — to go on
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. current — electric
  15. last — finally
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fork — in a road
  19. current — of water
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bear — the animal
  23. last — final
  24. current — happening now

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