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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: cap · cold · perch · content · wave · saw · lash · current

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. current — happening now
  6. cap — a lid
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. current — electric
  9. content — the amount
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cap — of ice
  16. current — of water
  17. saw — the tool
  18. perch — the fish
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cold — an illness
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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