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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 120 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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. suit — to fit
  3. fall — the season
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pop — soda
  6. tear — to rip
  7. spring — of water
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spring — a coil
  11. row — a line
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. pop — music
  14. spring — the season
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. row — to paddle
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. tear — from crying
  20. suit — in cards
  21. pop — to visit
  22. suit — clothes
  23. fall — to drop
  24. tear — from crying

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