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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. file — a tool
  3. bear — the animal
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. tear — from crying
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bass — low music
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bear — the animal
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bass — the fish
  18. scale — in music
  19. fall — to drop
  20. tear — to rip
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. pit — in a race
  23. file — a document
  24. fall — the season

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