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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. current — electric
  3. suit — to fit
  4. game — wild animals
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. clip — to cut
  8. perch — the fish
  9. suit — in cards
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. clip — a video
  12. current — happening now
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. current — of water
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. clip — for paper
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. game — a match
  22. date — the fruit
  23. sharp — clever
  24. suit — clothes

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