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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. land — ground
  5. stand — to bear
  6. land — a country
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. last — to go on
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. last — finally
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. land — to come down
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. fork — in a road
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. last — final
  24. straw — dry grass

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