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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. current — happening now
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. shower — to wash
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fall — to drop
  7. current — of water
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. perch — the fish
  11. current — electric
  12. foot — a measure
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fall — to drop
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. clip — to cut
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. fall — the season

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