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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bank — for money
  4. last — final
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. tear — from crying
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bank — for money
  11. rock — a stone
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. last — to go on
  15. game — a match
  16. fork — in a road
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. tear — to rip
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. last — finally
  24. bank — of a river

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