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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 124 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. ball — a dance
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. file — a tool
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. file — a document
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. hand — help
  19. ball — a great time
  20. fork — in a road
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. hand — in cards
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. file — a line of people

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