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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — letters
  4. root — of a plant
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stock — shares
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pop — soda
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. perch — the fish
  17. spell — magic
  18. clip — a video
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. root — of a word
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. root — the cause
  24. straw — dry grass

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