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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. mine — for digging
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bear — the animal
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wind — moving air
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. fork — in a road
  20. tear — to rip
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. tear — from crying
  24. prune — to trim

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