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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 120 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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. last — final
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bass — the fish
  5. last — finally
  6. mark — a trace
  7. current — of water
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bass — low music
  10. perch — the fish
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bound — tied together
  15. chest — a box
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — certain
  20. mark — a grade
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. current — happening now
  23. last — to go on
  24. current — electric

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