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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. current — happening now
  3. bat — the animal
  4. last — finally
  5. fork — in a road
  6. current — of water
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. last — final
  10. file — a line of people
  11. tear — to rip
  12. last — to go on
  13. file — a document
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. craft — a skill
  17. current — electric
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. craft — boats
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. file — a tool
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. craft — a handicraft

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