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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mate — a friend
  3. fork — in a road
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bore — to drill
  9. mate — to breed
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bore — to tire
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tear — to rip
  14. lie — to recline
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mate — a partner
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — in biology
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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