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

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. capital — a city
  3. current — of water
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. current — electric
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bass — the fish
  9. present — a gift
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. clip — a video
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. current — happening now
  16. clip — to cut
  17. kick — in football
  18. present — the time now
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. capital — money
  22. perch — the fish
  23. present — there
  24. perch — for a bird

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