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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 · band · wound · suit · perch · march · net · clip

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. net — for catching
  3. clip — to cut
  4. march — the month
  5. suit — clothes
  6. net — after costs
  7. wound — an injury
  8. suit — in cards
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. clip — for paper
  14. suit — to fit
  15. current — happening now
  16. march — the month
  17. current — of water
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. current — electric
  20. band — a music group
  21. wound — an injury
  22. net — in sport
  23. march — music
  24. clip — a video

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