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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: cold · perch · land · fork · snap · rest · board · rock

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. perch — the fish
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rest — what's left
  5. land — to come down
  6. cold — an illness
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. board — a committee
  14. land — ground
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fork — in a road
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. land — a country
  22. rock — music
  23. board — to get on
  24. perch — for a bird

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