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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: firm · last · bark · current · patient · cell · clip · perch

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. last — final
  4. current — happening now
  5. perch — the fish
  6. firm — steady
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. firm — a company
  10. cell — in biology
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cell — a phone
  15. last — to go on
  16. clip — a video
  17. bark — to shout
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. current — of water
  22. last — finally
  23. firm — decided
  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