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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. sharp — clever
  3. root — the cause
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — in music
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. last — final
  9. root — of a plant
  10. clip — for paper
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. clip — a video
  13. root — of a word
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. last — finally
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. last — to go on
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. key — the most important part
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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