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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. swing — to play on
  3. perch — the fish
  4. swing — music
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wake — a trail
  10. chip — for betting
  11. swing — in golf
  12. current — happening now
  13. chip — to eat
  14. saw — the tool
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. current — of water
  22. current — electric
  23. row — to paddle
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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