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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mark — a grade
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. drill — the tool
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. drill — army training
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. perch — the fish
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. mark — a trace
  16. clip — a video
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — magic
  19. wound — an injury
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spell — a short time
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. clip — for paper

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