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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. fork — in a road
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. deal — to handle
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. ground — a position
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. lean — thin
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. lean — to bend
  21. cold — an illness
  22. tear — to rip
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. deal — an agreement

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