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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: last · leaves · cold · fork · perch · calf · ground · mate

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. last — to go on
  4. ground — a position
  5. mate — a partner
  6. ground — the earth
  7. cold — not warm
  8. last — final
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. last — finally
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. mate — a friend
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ground — crushed
  19. fork — in a road
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. perch — the fish
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. leaves — to go away

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