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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 116 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fine — all right
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fine — high quality
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fall — the season
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. squash — the sport
  18. perch — for a bird

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