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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. spell — letters
  8. row — to paddle
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. pop — soda
  11. clip — to cut
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. pop — to visit
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spell — magic
  17. clip — a video
  18. row — a line
  19. foot — a measure
  20. clip — for paper
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. pop — music
  23. deal — to handle
  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