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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · stick · fork · cell · wake · board

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. fork — in a road
  6. board — a committee
  7. cell — a phone
  8. last — to go on
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. board — to get on
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. last — finally

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