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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. rock — a stone
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. rock — music
  13. kid — to tease
  14. tear — to rip
  15. kid — child
  16. file — a line of people
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. ground — crushed
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. tear — from crying
  22. ground — a position
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. ground — the earth

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