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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. clip — to cut
  4. current — of water
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. content — the amount
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. row — a line
  11. content — happy
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. clip — for paper
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — a division
  17. current — happening now
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. row — to paddle
  20. current — electric
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. clip — a video
  24. perch — the fish

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