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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. club — a group
  4. perch — the fish
  5. clip — a video
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. rash — hasty
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. shower — to wash
  12. club — for golf
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. clip — for paper
  16. club — for dancing
  17. shower — rain
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. content — the amount
  21. clip — to cut
  22. content — happy
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. content — videos and posts

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