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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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Word bank
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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — of a word
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bulb — for light
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. clip — a video
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. season — in sport
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bulb — for light
  18. sharp — clever
  19. root — the cause
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bulb — of a plant

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