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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: pitch · wind · rash · file · straw · perch · clip · spell

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. clip — for paper
  4. perch — the fish
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rash — a series
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. spell — letters
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. clip — to cut
  16. spell — magic
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rash — hasty
  23. clip — a video
  24. pitch — completely

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