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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. current — electric
  5. rest — what's left
  6. current — happening now
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wind — moving air
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. spring — the season
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rest — a break
  17. game — a match
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. rest — what's left
  22. current — of water
  23. game — wild animals
  24. perch — the fish

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