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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: chest · wound · perch · fine · deal · shower · current · band

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wound — an injury
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. chest — a box
  8. wound — an injury
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. band — a ring
  14. fine — high quality
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — rain
  17. deal — to handle
  18. fine — all right
  19. current — electric
  20. current — of water
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. chest — of your body
  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