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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. dip — to sink
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. clip — for paper
  7. current — happening now
  8. pound — a weight
  9. perch — the fish
  10. clip — to cut
  11. row — a line
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. current — of water
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. spell — a short time
  16. clip — a video
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. current — electric
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — magic
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. kick — in football

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