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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: tear · rest · ground · bank · kid · fork

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ground — crushed
  3. rest — a break
  4. bank — for money
  5. tear — to rip
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ground — the earth
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rest — what's left
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — child
  15. ground — a position
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — of a river
  18. rest — what's left

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