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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: file · wave · cold · bay · fork · cue · last · perch

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. cue — a hint
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. last — finally
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cue — for pool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. file — a tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. last — to go on
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. file — a document
  17. cue — a signal
  18. file — a line of people
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a horse colour

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