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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. tear — from crying
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. file — a document
  7. last — final
  8. kid — to tease
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. tear — to rip
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. tear — from crying
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. last — to go on
  18. shower — rain
  19. fork — in a road
  20. file — a tool
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. kid — child
  23. last — finally
  24. fork — to eat with

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