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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: bowl · jam · wind · season · perch · clip · row · dip

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  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 — for a bird
  2. dip — to sink
  3. clip — a video
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. row — a line
  7. wind — moving air
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. row — to paddle
  11. clip — to cut
  12. season — in sport
  13. perch — the fish
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. season — of the year
  20. clip — for paper
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — a dish
  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