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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. content — happy
  3. lean — to bend
  4. content — the amount
  5. lean — thin
  6. field — a subject
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. field — for sport
  9. fork — in a road
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. tear — to rip
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. field — farmland
  18. vault — a safe
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — of ice
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cap — a hat

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