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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.

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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: ruler · cold · perch · face · sharp · fork · last · pass

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. pass — a permit
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. face — part of the head
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. face — to confront
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. face — to point toward
  20. sharp — clever
  21. fork — in a road
  22. last — finally
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pass — to succeed

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