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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. tear — to rip
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. object — an aim
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. tear — from crying
  10. object — a thing
  11. fork — in a road
  12. lie — to recline
  13. bass — low music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bass — the fish
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match

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