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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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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: board · fine · wind · current · perch · rest · land · temple

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. land — ground
  4. current — happening now
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. wind — moving air
  9. perch — the fish
  10. rest — what's left
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rest — a break
  13. land — to come down
  14. board — a committee
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. board — to get on
  17. wind — moving air
  18. current — electric
  19. land — a country
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. current — of water
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fine — a penalty

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