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

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. file — a tool
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fork — in a road
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. wax — to grow
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bulb — for light
  9. tear — from crying
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. bulb — for light
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — a list
  18. fork — a garden tool

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