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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — government
  4. mug — a cup
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. current — electric
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. stock — shares
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. clip — to cut
  14. file — a tool
  15. current — happening now
  16. clip — a video
  17. current — of water
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — to rob
  22. clip — for paper
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rule — a law

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