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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. net — for catching
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fork — in a road
  5. bear — the animal
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tube — the underground
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bear — the animal
  11. net — in sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tube — a container
  14. net — after costs
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. prune — to trim

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