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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. court — of law
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. file — a tool
  6. current — happening now
  7. court — for sport
  8. tear — to rip
  9. court — of a king
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bulb — for light
  12. chest — a box
  13. fork — in a road
  14. current — electric
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. pass — a permit
  18. chest — of your body
  19. current — of water
  20. bulb — for light
  21. file — a document
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. tear — from crying
  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