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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: mouse · cold · jam · fork · face · perch · plane · pit

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pit — a hole
  3. perch — the fish
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. fork — in a road
  7. face — to point toward
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. pit — in a race
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. face — to confront
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. face — part of the head
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. fork — to eat with

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