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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: squash · bowl · last · fork · wound · bulb · perch · bat

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. perch — the fish
  13. last — to go on
  14. bulb — for light
  15. last — final
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. last — finally
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fork — in a road
  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