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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · march · pop · clip · mine · spell · vault · perch

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. march — music
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mine — for digging
  7. spell — magic
  8. pop — to visit
  9. perch — the fish
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. march — the month
  15. clip — for paper
  16. march — the month
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. clip — a video
  19. hand — help
  20. pop — soda
  21. vault — a safe
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pop — music
  24. spell — a short time

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