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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bulb — for light
  9. chest — a box
  10. firm — a company
  11. bulb — for light
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bat — the animal
  15. spell — letters
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spell — magic
  18. firm — steady
  19. spell — a short time
  20. firm — decided
  21. fork — in a road
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. fork — a garden 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