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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. current — of water
  3. court — of law
  4. season — in sport
  5. court — for sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. shower — rain
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. can — a tin
  10. current — electric
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. perch — the fish
  13. shower — to wash
  14. court — of a king
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. can — a tin
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. can — to be able to
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. current — happening now
  24. sharp — clever

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