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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: current · tube · craft · perch · sharp · last · band · roll

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — the underground
  3. roll — a list
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. craft — a skill
  7. tube — a container
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. current — electric
  10. perch — the fish
  11. roll — a cake
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. last — to go on
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. band — a music group
  16. last — final
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. current — happening now
  19. sharp — clever
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. current — of water
  22. craft — boats
  23. last — finally
  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