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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: fork · chest · prune · net · key · trunk · wake · perch

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. key — the most important part
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. chest — of your body
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chest — of your body
  13. net — after costs
  14. key — for a lock
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — a trail
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. prune — to trim
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fork — in a road
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chest — a box
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. key — in music

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