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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. spring — the season
  4. fine — high quality
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stock — shares
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spring — of water
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. hand — help
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rock — a stone
  19. fine — all right
  20. fork — in a road
  21. sharp — clever
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. rock — music
  24. spring — a coil

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