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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: fork · squash · jam · club · tear · perch · roll · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. club — a group
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. club — for dancing
  9. kick — in football
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fork — in a road
  13. perch — the fish
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — a list
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. club — for golf
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. tear — from crying
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. squash — the sport

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