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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: scale · deal · current · last · jam · perch · bark · kid

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. deal — to handle
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. last — finally
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. current — electric
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. current — of water
  10. bark — to shout
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. last — final
  17. scale — size or range
  18. perch — the fish
  19. last — to go on
  20. kid — child
  21. scale — in music
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. current — happening now
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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