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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. lean — to bend
  4. current — of water
  5. clip — for paper
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. clip — a video
  10. current — electric
  11. toast — bread
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. clip — to cut
  15. file — a tool
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. file — a document
  21. current — happening now
  22. bass — the fish
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bass — low music

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