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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: fall · bat · staff · kid · tear · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. tear — to rip
  3. fork — in a road
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. kid — child
  11. fall — the season
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bat — the animal
  17. staff — a stick
  18. kid — to tease

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