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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. rule — a law
  3. chest — a box
  4. fork — in a road
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. snap — to click
  11. rule — government
  12. tear — to rip
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. spring — of water
  16. pass — a permit
  17. tear — from crying
  18. spring — the season
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. chest — of your body
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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