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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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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: lash · land · wake · perch · spring · last · object · current

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. spring — the season
  3. last — finally
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. current — electric
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wake — a trail
  9. land — a country
  10. current — happening now
  11. object — to protest
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. perch — the fish
  14. current — of water
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. last — to go on
  17. land — to come down
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. object — a thing
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. land — ground
  23. object — an aim
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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