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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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Word bank
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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: wake · bat · staff · last · fork · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wake — a trail
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. last — finally
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. staff — employees
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fork — in a road
  13. last — to go on
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. last — final
  18. perch — for a bird

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