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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: rest · object · bound · rash · current · saw · chest · perch

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chest — of your body
  3. current — electric
  4. bound — tied together
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. current — of water
  7. chest — a box
  8. object — to protest
  9. rest — what's left
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. rest — a break
  15. object — a thing
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. object — an aim
  20. current — happening now
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rash — a series
  23. rest — what's left
  24. saw — the tool

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