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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 120 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: tube · straw · suit · perch · land · spell · mine · club

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. spell — letters
  3. club — for golf
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. tube — a container
  6. suit — to fit
  7. spell — a short time
  8. suit — clothes
  9. tube — the underground
  10. club — for dancing
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. spell — magic
  15. land — a country
  16. club — a group
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. land — ground
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. perch — the fish
  23. mine — for digging
  24. land — to come down

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