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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 120 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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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: band · race · current · content · calf · key · bat · perch

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. band — a ring
  3. bat — the animal
  4. race — the arms race
  5. content — the amount
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. band — a music group
  8. current — electric
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. key — the most important part
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. key — in music
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. perch — the fish
  15. race — a contest
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. current — of water
  18. race — humankind
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. key — for a lock
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. current — happening now

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