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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. track — to keep track
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. tear — from crying
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. content — the amount
  9. land — to come down
  10. track — a song
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. land — ground
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — in a road
  15. content — happy
  16. tear — to rip
  17. land — a country
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. track — a path
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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