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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. date — the fruit
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bulb — for light
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kick — in football
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bulb — for light
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. fork — in a road

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