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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. perch — the fish
  3. last — finally
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. track — a path
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. capital — money
  13. track — to keep track
  14. capital — a city
  15. ground — a position
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. last — to go on
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. last — final
  20. track — a song
  21. ground — crushed
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wake — a trail
  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