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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. ball — a dance
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. clip — a video
  6. current — electric
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wound — an injury
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. current — of water
  11. scale — size or range
  12. present — a gift
  13. scale — in music
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. ball — a great time
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. present — there
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. current — happening now
  22. wound — an injury
  23. clip — to cut
  24. present — the time now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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