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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. file — a line of people
  3. club — for dancing
  4. mark — a trace
  5. club — a group
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. tear — to rip
  9. fork — in a road
  10. mark — a grade
  11. prune — to trim
  12. file — a tool
  13. pass — a permit
  14. file — a document
  15. chair — a leader
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. prune — to trim
  24. club — for golf

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