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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: perch · mark · wind · squash · wake · current · pop · stick

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. current — electric
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pop — to visit
  7. squash — to crush
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. current — happening now
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pop — music
  18. wake — a trail
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. current — of water
  24. pop — soda

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