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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. clip — to cut
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — in sport
  5. clip — a video
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. current — electric
  8. fine — high quality
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. clip — for paper
  17. current — happening now
  18. track — to keep track
  19. fine — all right
  20. snap — to click
  21. track — a path
  22. perch — the fish
  23. track — a song
  24. perch — for a bird

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