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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: wind · fall · perch · rest · roll · straw · spell · net

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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. wind — to turn a key
  2. spell — letters
  3. net — after costs
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. fall — the season
  7. wind — moving air
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rest — what's left
  10. perch — the fish
  11. rest — what's left
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. net — for catching
  14. fall — to drop
  15. roll — a list
  16. rest — a break
  17. spell — magic
  18. roll — a cake
  19. spell — a short time
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. net — in sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fall — to drop
  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