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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. chest — a box
  5. plane — a tool
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. rule — a law
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bear — the animal
  13. perch — the fish
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. clip — a video
  16. rule — government
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. bore — to tire
  19. spell — magic
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bear — the animal
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bore — to drill
  24. chest — of your body

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