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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've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. object — to protest
  9. staff — a stick
  10. branch — a division
  11. object — a thing
  12. tear — to rip
  13. spell — letters
  14. row — to paddle
  15. tear — from crying
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. object — an aim
  18. staff — employees
  19. row — a line
  20. staff — employees
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spell — magic
  24. branch — of a bank

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