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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: bear · cold · hand · press · perch · current · game · march

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. current — electric
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. current — happening now
  7. march — music
  8. hand — help
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. hand — in cards
  12. press — to push
  13. march — the month
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. current — of water
  17. press — a publisher
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. game — a match
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. game — wild animals
  23. press — newspapers
  24. march — the month

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