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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: spring · fine · wake · perch · current · mouse · field · hand

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. current — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. fine — all right
  5. perch — the fish
  6. field — farmland
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. current — electric
  13. field — for sport
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. fine — high quality
  17. field — a subject
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. wake — a trail
  24. mouse — for a computer

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