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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 120 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 · hand · fine · firm · row · clip · suit · lean

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. spell — letters
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fine — high quality
  6. lean — thin
  7. spell — a short time
  8. firm — steady
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fine — all right
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. spell — magic
  14. clip — to cut
  15. suit — in cards
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. row — a line
  18. suit — clothes
  19. clip — a video
  20. lean — to bend
  21. clip — for paper
  22. firm — a company
  23. row — to paddle
  24. firm — decided

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