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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. spell — letters
  3. current — electric
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. bass — low music
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. drill — a practice
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. spell — magic
  15. current — happening now
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. current — of water
  21. drill — army training
  22. bass — the fish
  23. drill — the tool
  24. spell — a short time

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