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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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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: perch · cold · net · fork · nail · court · lash · wax

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. court — of a king
  9. net — for catching
  10. court — of law
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. net — after costs
  17. fork — in a road
  18. perch — the fish
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. court — for sport
  22. net — in sport
  23. wax — to grow
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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