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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 walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. fork — in a road
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a grade
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. hand — help
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — for a lock
  11. file — a document
  12. mark — a trace
  13. key — in music
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. tear — from crying
  16. file — a tool
  17. hand — in cards
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. mine — for digging
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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