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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 · staff · face · fork · rest · lean

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  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. face — to confront
  2. staff — employees
  3. tear — to rip
  4. face — part of the head
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. lean — to bend
  7. staff — employees
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rest — what's left
  10. lean — thin
  11. staff — a stick
  12. rest — a break
  13. tear — from crying
  14. face — to point toward
  15. rest — what's left
  16. lean — to rest against
  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