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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: kid · perch · firm · racket · snap · bear · field · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bear — the animal
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. field — for sport
  6. firm — decided
  7. field — a subject
  8. firm — a company
  9. spell — letters
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. spell — a short time
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. snap — to click
  18. firm — steady
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. field — farmland
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bear — the animal

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