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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. spell — letters
  3. band — a music group
  4. row — to paddle
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spell — a short time
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. clip — a video
  9. spell — magic
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. court — for sport
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. band — a ring
  15. clip — for paper
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rash — a series
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. clip — to cut
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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