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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: drill · press · current · bear · last · content · cell · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. press — a publisher
  3. content — the amount
  4. cell — in biology
  5. drill — army training
  6. current — electric
  7. press — to push
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cell — a phone
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bear — the animal
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. current — happening now
  17. content — happy
  18. last — finally
  19. press — newspapers
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. drill — a practice
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. current — of water

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