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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. row — to paddle
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. season — of the year
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bore — to tire
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. row — a line
  22. season — in sport
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bore — to drill

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