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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · sharp · wind · squash · tear · hand

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. tear — from crying
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fork — in a road
  14. squash — to crush
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. tear — to rip
  18. sharp — with an edge

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