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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bear — the animal
  3. staff — employees
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cap — a lid
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bear — the animal
  11. kid — child
  12. cap — a hat
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cap — of ice
  18. staff — employees
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. tear — from crying
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. row — to paddle
  23. staff — a stick
  24. saw — the tool

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