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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: spell · calf · perch · bat · wind · file · root · snap

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. root — of a plant
  4. spell — magic
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. spell — a short time
  8. root — the cause
  9. spell — letters
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. file — a line of people
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. root — of a word
  16. file — a tool
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to click
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. file — a document
  24. wind — moving air

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