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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. board — to get on
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — to bend
  5. scale — in music
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. lean — thin
  10. degree — from a university
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. squash — the sport
  17. degree — an amount
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — size or range
  20. degree — temperature
  21. perch — the fish
  22. board — a committee
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fork — in a road

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