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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wound — an injury
  10. staff — employees
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wound — an injury
  14. file — a document
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. file — a tool
  19. wax — to grow
  20. march — music
  21. tear — to rip
  22. march — the month
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. march — the month

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