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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: perch · wound · row · clip · wake · spell · straw · deal

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wound — an injury
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. row — to paddle
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. row — a line
  11. spell — letters
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wound — an injury
  17. perch — the fish
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spell — magic
  22. clip — a video
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. deal — an agreement

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