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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bass — the fish
  4. current — electric
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. clip — for paper
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. court — of law
  11. clip — a video
  12. capital — money
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. court — for sport
  15. current — happening now
  16. bass — low music
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. clip — to cut
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. current — of water
  22. capital — a city
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. court — of a king

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