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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: fork · stock · clip · march · tear · fall

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. march — the month
  5. fall — the season
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fork — in a road
  9. march — music
  10. stock — shares
  11. clip — a video
  12. march — the month
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stock — goods
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. stock — a soup base

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