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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. plane — a tool
  4. swing — music
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. march — music
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. stem — to come from
  10. capital — money
  11. current — of water
  12. perch — the fish
  13. ground — a position
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. capital — a city
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. current — electric
  18. march — the month
  19. swing — in golf
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. march — the month
  24. current — happening now

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