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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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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: tear · fork · race · lie · spring · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a tool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spring — a coil
  5. file — a document
  6. spring — of water
  7. lie — to recline
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. tear — to rip
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. tear — from crying
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. spring — the season
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road

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