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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. band — a ring
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. kid — to tease
  7. band — a music group
  8. current — of water
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. current — electric
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bat — the animal
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. current — happening now
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kid — child

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