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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  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 — to eat with
  2. cue — a signal
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. current — electric
  6. cue — a hint
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. wind — moving air
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bank — for money
  15. cue — for pool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bank — of a river
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tube — a container
  23. bank — for money
  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