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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: land · hide · calf · fork · pound · tear

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. land — a country
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. land — to come down
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. land — ground
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fork — in a road
  18. calf — a young animal

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