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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: squash · bat · content · fork · perch · stick · last · track

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. content — the amount
  2. last — final
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. track — a song
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. track — a path
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. track — to keep track
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. content — happy
  17. last — finally
  18. perch — the fish
  19. last — to go on
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bat — the animal
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fork — in a road
  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