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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. track — a song
  6. tear — from crying
  7. track — a path
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. band — a ring
  10. tear — to rip
  11. track — to keep track
  12. hand — help
  13. tear — from crying
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group

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