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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: object · last · fork · plane · perch · clip · row · spring

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. spring — of water
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. last — to go on
  6. fork — in a road
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. object — to protest
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. clip — for paper
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. row — to paddle
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. last — final
  18. object — a thing
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. clip — a video
  24. last — finally

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