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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: race · perch · mouse · cold · march · current · net · rush

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. net — after costs
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. march — the month
  5. rush — hurry
  6. net — for catching
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. current — of water
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. march — the month
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. march — music
  17. perch — the fish
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. cold — not warm
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. race — the arms race
  23. net — in sport
  24. rush — to hurry

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