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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. spring — of water
  8. current — of water
  9. drill — a practice
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. current — happening now
  13. perch — the fish
  14. spring — the season
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rock — a stone
  20. wake — a trail
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rock — music
  23. current — electric
  24. rock — to move gently

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