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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 124 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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. band — a ring
  5. fork — in a road
  6. land — a country
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. land — to come down
  9. pit — a hole
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. tear — to rip
  12. land — ground
  13. bound — certain
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. band — a music group
  19. tear — from crying
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bound — obliged
  22. tear — from crying
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bound — tied together

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