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

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. root — of a word
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. mine — for digging
  5. plane — a tool
  6. last — finally
  7. fork — in a road
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wake — a trail
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. root — the cause
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. perch — the fish
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. root — of a plant

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