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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: march · racket · foot · straw · spell · perch · hide · vault

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. vault — a safe
  5. march — the month
  6. foot — a measure
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spell — letters
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. march — music
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. march — the month
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. hide — animal skin

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