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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. drill — a practice
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. perch — the fish
  5. land — a country
  6. craft — boats
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. land — to come down
  12. fork — in a road
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. craft — a skill
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. drill — army training
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. land — ground
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. drill — the tool
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. scale — size or range
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wound — an injury

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