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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. key — in music
  7. fall — the season
  8. key — for a lock
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. spell — magic
  13. key — the most important part
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spell — letters
  18. bear — the animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. spell — a short time
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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