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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: bay · clip · spell · kid · wound · bore · stem · perch

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spell — magic
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. perch — the fish
  5. kid — child
  6. clip — for paper
  7. kid — to tease
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bore — to drill
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. clip — to cut
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spell — letters
  16. stem — to come from
  17. clip — a video
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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