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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 116 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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. clip — a video
  3. current — of water
  4. stock — shares
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — for catching
  7. current — happening now
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. current — electric
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. net — in sport
  14. stock — goods
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. perch — the fish
  20. clip — for paper
  21. craft — boats
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. craft — a skill
  24. clip — to cut

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