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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: rock · squash · wake · perch · stick · pop · cell · fork

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. wake — before a funeral
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rock — music
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. pop — music
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. pop — soda
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rock — a stone
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. perch — the fish
  19. squash — to crush
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cell — in biology
  23. perch — for a bird
  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