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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 116 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: fork · wind · content · craft · pit · wake · stick · perch

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wind — moving air
  3. craft — boats
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. perch — the fish
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wind — moving air
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pit — a hole
  18. fork — in a road
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. content — the amount
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wake — a trail
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pit — in a race

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