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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · stick · current · shower · perch · foot · kid · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. current — happening now
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. shower — to wash
  13. current — of water
  14. land — ground
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kid — child
  19. current — electric
  20. land — a country
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. land — to come down
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. foot — a measure

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