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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 116 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 · season · cold · saw · can · rule · perch · net

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. current — happening now
  3. rule — a law
  4. current — of water
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. saw — the tool
  7. can — a tin
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. net — for catching
  11. can — a tin
  12. net — after costs
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. current — electric
  15. net — in sport
  16. can — to be able to
  17. season — in sport
  18. perch — the fish
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. season — of the year

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