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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pitch — completely
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. clip — for paper
  7. current — electric
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cell — in biology
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cell — a phone
  12. sharp — clever
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. current — of water
  15. clip — a video
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. current — happening now
  23. perch — the fish
  24. sharp — with an edge

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