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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. clip — for paper
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bass — low music
  6. current — happening now
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mark — a grade
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. clip — a video
  14. mark — a trace
  15. perch — the fish
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. current — electric
  21. file — a document
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. current — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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