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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. fork — in a road
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. season — in sport
  5. bark — to shout
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. file — a line of people
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. file — a tool
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. lie — to recline
  13. current — happening now
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. degree — temperature
  18. tear — to rip
  19. current — electric
  20. current — of water
  21. season — of the year
  22. tear — from crying
  23. file — a document
  24. degree — from a university

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