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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. perch — the fish
  3. tube — the underground
  4. current — electric
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. row — to paddle
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. band — a music group
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. band — a ring
  19. current — happening now
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tube — a container
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. current — of water
  24. row — a line

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