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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · wake · wound · stand · perch · spell · dip · band

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. band — a ring
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. spell — letters
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. wound — an injury
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. dip — to sink
  16. wake — a trail
  17. spell — a short time
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spell — magic
  24. band — a music group

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