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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. current — happening now
  5. perch — the fish
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. capital — a city
  14. current — of water
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. file — a line of people
  18. current — electric
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. file — a document
  24. hand — help

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