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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. bulb — for light
  6. date — the fruit
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. foot — a measure
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fork — in a road
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wound — an injury
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. sharp — exactly

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