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

Word bank: chair · kick · fork · cell · ground · tear

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ground — the earth
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ground — a position
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fork — in a road
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. ground — crushed

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