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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: spell · wind · hand · last · perch · row · nail · bear

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. spell — letters
  5. last — to go on
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spell — magic
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. last — final
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. hand — help
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. row — to paddle
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bear — the animal
  21. perch — the fish
  22. spell — a short time
  23. row — a line
  24. wind — moving air

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