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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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Word bank
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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: wound · jam · last · wind · land · ball · perch · fork

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. last — finally
  3. land — a country
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. land — to come down
  8. wind — moving air
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. last — final
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — in a road
  17. last — to go on
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. land — ground
  20. ball — a dance
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wind — moving air

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