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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 · file · perch · chip · row · spell · bowl · cold

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. row — to paddle
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — magic
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wind — moving air
  10. file — a document
  11. cold — an illness
  12. file — a line of people
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. chip — for betting
  19. row — a line
  20. chip — to eat
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. file — a tool
  24. cold — not warm

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