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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 · spring · hide · march · degree · saw · craft · current

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. spring — the season
  5. march — music
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. craft — boats
  9. current — of water
  10. degree — temperature
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. degree — an amount
  13. craft — a skill
  14. saw — the tool
  15. spring — of water
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. current — electric
  19. current — happening now
  20. spring — a coil
  21. degree — from a university
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. craft — a handicraft

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