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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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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: pop · file · swing · last · fork · tear

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pop — to visit
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. last — final
  7. file — a document
  8. last — to go on
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. file — a tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. swing — to play on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pop — music
  16. fork — in a road
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pop — soda

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