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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wake — a trail
  6. cold — an illness
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. track — a path
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. track — a song
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. track — to keep track
  17. row — a line
  18. cold — not warm
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. 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