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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: perch · land · board · field · file · cue · current · fall

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. land — ground
  3. cue — for pool
  4. board — a committee
  5. land — to come down
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. land — a country
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fall — to drop
  14. file — a tool
  15. cue — a hint
  16. board — to get on
  17. fall — to drop
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cue — a signal
  20. file — a document
  21. field — farmland
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. fall — the season

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