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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wake — a trail
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pitcher — a jug

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