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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. craft — a skill
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. root — the cause
  6. net — after costs
  7. clip — to cut
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wind — moving air
  11. net — for catching
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. clip — a video
  14. root — of a word
  15. content — happy
  16. craft — boats
  17. spell — a short time
  18. content — the amount
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. net — in sport
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wind — moving air
  23. root — of a plant
  24. perch — for a bird

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