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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: last · stick · club · perch · saw · rule · sharp · wake

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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. last — finally
  2. sharp — clever
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. club — a group
  6. rule — government
  7. last — to go on
  8. wake — a trail
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rule — a law
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. last — final
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. club — for dancing
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. perch — the fish
  23. club — for golf
  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