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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: dip · ruler · cell · spell · clip · row · ground · perch

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spell — letters
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. ground — a position
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. row — to paddle
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. spell — a short time
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. spell — magic
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. cell — in biology
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. row — a line
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cell — a phone
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. perch — the fish
  24. dip — to sink

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