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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. tear — to rip
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. branch — a division
  7. bore — to drill
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. vault — a safe
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. fork — in a road
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. tear — from crying
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. plane — a tool

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