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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 116 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: kick · spell · clip · scale · bound · bear · row · hand

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bear — the animal
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. hand — help
  11. spell — a short time
  12. row — a line
  13. clip — for paper
  14. hand — in cards
  15. scale — in music
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bound — certain
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. clip — a video
  23. bear — the animal
  24. hand — part of the body

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