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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. spell — magic
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. clip — for paper
  8. net — in sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. spell — letters
  11. pitch — completely
  12. net — for catching
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. perch — the fish
  18. saw — the tool
  19. clip — to cut
  20. net — after costs
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. clip — a video
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. pitch — a sports field

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