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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rush — hurry
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fork — in a road
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. tear — to rip
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. snap — to click
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. saw — the tool

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