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

Word bank: bank · perch · clip · pound · spell · cell · bore · court

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. cell — in biology
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. court — for sport
  12. bore — to tire
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bore — to drill
  15. court — of law
  16. clip — a video
  17. court — of a king
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bank — of a river
  23. clip — to cut
  24. perch — for a bird

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