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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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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: cabinet · fork · chair · tear · straw · wake

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chair — a leader
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wake — a trail

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