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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: fine · perch · hide · wound · tear · stick · spell · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. spell — magic
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. spell — a short time
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — all right
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fine — high quality
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — letters
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. squash — to crush
  22. perch — the fish
  23. tear — to rip
  24. perch — for a bird

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