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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: chair · cap · snap · rash · bear · perch · current · sharp

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cap — a hat
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. current — happening now
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. current — electric
  10. cap — a lid
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rash — a series
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. cap — of ice
  17. perch — the fish
  18. snap — to click
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. sharp — clever
  23. current — of water
  24. perch — for a bird

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