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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · current · chip · row · cap · band · bulb · drill

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  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. cap — a hat
  2. cap — a lid
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chip — to eat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bulb — for light
  8. drill — a practice
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. current — of water
  11. drill — the tool
  12. band — a music group
  13. perch — the fish
  14. current — electric
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bulb — for light
  17. band — a ring
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. row — to paddle
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. row — a line
  22. drill — army training
  23. bulb — of a plant
  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