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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. track — a song
  4. cold — an illness
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. track — a path
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cold — not warm
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. track — to keep track
  21. perch — the fish
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. row — a quarrel

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