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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fine — all right
  8. fork — in a road
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stem — to come from
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fall — the season
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. dip — to sink
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fork — to eat with

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