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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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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: perch · net · straw · cell · spell · file · chip · leaves

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chip — to eat
  6. net — for catching
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. spell — letters
  9. cell — in biology
  10. net — in sport
  11. file — a tool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. perch — the fish
  15. file — a document
  16. spell — magic
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. net — after costs
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. chip — for betting
  21. spell — a short time
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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