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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 120 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: rest · craft · perch · trunk · last · face · fork · capital

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. last — to go on
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. craft — boats
  7. perch — the fish
  8. craft — a skill
  9. capital — a city
  10. face — part of the head
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. rest — what's left
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. capital — money
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. face — to confront
  21. fork — in a road
  22. face — to point toward
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. trunk — of a tree

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