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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. prune — to trim
  5. staff — employees
  6. fine — all right
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tear — from crying
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. staff — employees
  13. chair — a leader
  14. tear — to rip
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mine — for digging
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. staff — a stick

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