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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. rash — hasty
  6. mate — to breed
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wake — a trail
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rock — a stone
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rock — music
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cold — not warm
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rash — a series
  20. mate — a partner
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fork — in a road
  24. perch — the fish

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